A Tale of Hearts
by KingdomKat
Summary: "One with a heart so pure...you cannot possibly understand your role in this life. You hold a power within you that is both a blessing and a burden. But don't worry, your friends will help you through the challenges you will face. Don't be afraid of your own demise, fear only what will happen if you do not succeed..."
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

He was falling down into darkness…

I've been having these weird thoughts lately...

He landed lightly on a dark circle. One step and a burst of bright light and wind from underneath him. Doves flew away, revealing a beautiful glass circle of a woman and seven dwarfs.

Are they real, or not... _So much to do, so little time…_ said a voice out of nowhere. _Take your time, don't be afraid…the door is still shut…Now step forward, can you do it?_

The boy nodded and walked forward, proving his point. Suddenly a pedestal with a shield hovering above it rose from the ground. _Power sleeps within you…_ Another pedestal, with a staff this time. _If you give it form…_Yet another pedestal, this time with a sword. _It will give you strength._

He walked to each pedestal, the voice giving a description of each weapon hovering above it. The boy then decided to take the sword. He took it in his hands and it burst in light, disappearing.

The pedestal he was on collapsed into the floor, as well as the others. The ground began to shake and crack into pieces. The boy looked down at the shattering floor with shock and he tried to run, but the whole circle shattered and the boy fell into darkness again.

The boy saw another circle appear, this time of a woman in a white gown. He lightly landed on his feet. _You now have the power to fight…_said the voice, as the sword appeared in the boy's hand without warning.

_There will be times you will have to fight…_ The boy stepped back as the spot took shape and rose from the floor.

_Keep your light burning strong…_ More of the things rose from the floor and the boy took a battle stance. One of the shadows jumped and he swung his sword. The thing vaporized into darkness as the sword came in contact with its head. The boy jumped back as a second shadow tried to slice him with its claws. The boy swung the sword horizontal, and again the shadow vaporized into darkness.

The boy looked at the remaining shadows. One of the shadows sank into the floor, leaving a pool of darkness that started stretching across the floor. The others followed the first and the shadows covered the whole circle. The pool started sucking the boy in, like quicksand.

He struggled, trying to move his feet but to no avail. He looked up before the darkness swallowed him whole.

He was on another floor when the darkness faded. The floor had three hearts on it with the silhouettes of princesses in them. The boy, with his eyes closed was still struggling. His eyes flew open and he begin gasping for breath, glancing around with terror. Seeing the shadows were gone, he got up shakily.

He slowly looked around. There was a door on the far side, but it was transparent. There was no way he could get through it. A crate appeared out of nowhere and the boy walked over to it. _You can push these crates._ Said the voice, _Try it._ The boy was doubtful, the crate looked heavy. But he started pushing it and found he could slide it across the floor with ease. Maybe he had gotten stronger here...? He turned and saw the door had solidified.

The boy walked over to the door and examined it. It opened a tiny bit and a bright light begin seeping out. The door continued to open until the pathway through was fully revealed. The boy shielded his eyes from the light, but slowly put his arm down and begins to walk hesitantly towards the door.

The light overwhelmed his vision and when it faded, he found himself in a tree house overlooking an entire island. There was a girl and two boys there with him.

_Hold on, the door won't open just yet…_the voice said. _First, tell me more about yourself..._

The boy walked over to a girl with flipped out brown hair and green eyes. She had a yellow dress on. "What's most important to you?" she asked the boy. When the boy told her she asked with a smile, "Is that such a big deal?"

The boy then walked over to a boy with blonde spiky hair and blue eyes. He had an open shirt on and blue shorts that were longer on one side then the other. "What are you afraid of?" he asked. The boy responded with his greatest fear and he frowned slightly, "Is that really so scary?"

The boy walked over to the only person left. The guy had crazy orange hair contained by a bandana. He held a volleyball in one hand and wore big yellow pants and a white sweatshirt. "What do you want outta life?" he asked with a Jamaican accent. When the boy told him, he heard the voice again.

_Your adventure begins at midday…Keep a steady pace, and you'll come through fine…_

_The day you will open the door is both far off and very near…_ A blinding light came again and when it faded the boy was again on another circle. On the glass circle was another princess sleeping. Dark thorns were coming out from behind her, adding a menacing feel to the beautiful place.

The boy walked along the circle when another shadow came from behind hm. He summoned his sword and turned to face it, then more came until he was fully surrounded.

One jumped at him and he sliced in midair, making it vaporize into darkness. Three came at him a once and he jumped to avoid there attacks. When he was in the air he came down on the middle of the three, vaporizing it. Then he turned with his sword out, slicing through the other two. He kept swinging his sword at all the rest until there was none left.

A little circle of light was there when he turned to the far side of the circle. He stepped in it and was filled with warmth. He watched as the scratch marks the shadows made faded until there was nothing left of them.

All of a sudden another circle of light apppeared, seemingly from the one the boy was standing in. It slid across the floor and off the edge. A shimmering appeared and a glass square was there. Another one followed that, and another, and another, until a glass bridge was built across the open space.

The boy tested out a piece of the bridge with the edge of his foot, then stepped onto it fully. Reaching the end of the glass bridge, he found another ceramic circle. He studied the design, it was of a girl in a yellow ball gown with beast of some sort behind her.

The boy saw a soft light and looked up. He continued walking forward, swinging his arms slightly. _The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes…_the voice said. The boy looked behind him at his shadow, curious as to what the voice meant. The shadow was stretched, and suddenly started to rise from the ground. The boy, shocked, jumped back.

The shadow continued to grow and the boy was backing up. _But don't be afraid…_ The shadows arms had finished growing, with large claws for fingers. The boy took another step back. The shadow put his feet down; they were wrinkled in a zigzag fashion. The shadow had beady yellow eyes and a mass of shadow tentacles around his head.

_And don't forget…_The boy with fear written on his face, turned and started to run. He ran towards the bridge, but the glass had disappeared and he had to balance on one leg and wave his arms to avoid falling off. He turned slowly to face the shadow, which drew up to its full height.

The boy took out his sword and ran towards the monster shadow. The shadow seeing the boy smashed his hand on the floor in attempt to squish him. However the boy sliced the shadow's hand and the shadow brought his hand up quickly.

He jumped and nicked the shadows finger. The shadow, quickly getting angry, brought forth dark energy in his hand and slammed it to the ground. The dark energy created a portal were little shadows he faced before come out of.

The boy ran towards the portal and started to hit the shadows hand. The shadow pulled his hand back the portal disappeared. The shadow was bent down so the boy ran and jumped on his hand. He ran up his arm to the shadows face and gave it a hard swing.

He jumped off the shadow and to his complete shock his weapon disappeared. He looked at his hand, then nearly avoided being squashed by the shadows hand. The boy fell off his feet, waiting for the shadow to end it, when a dark portal opened underneath him.

_-But don't be afraid…_ the voice whispered.

The portals darkness began to cover his legs.

_You hold the mightiest weapon of all._

The boy tried to turn and get away from the shadow, but the darkness just wrapped itself around more of him. He stretched his hand out, but that too was covered by the darkness.

_So don't forget…._

The shadows started to cover his face. Soon he was swallowed by darkness

_You are the one who will open the door_.

***KH***

"Where is he?" huffed Kairi.

I shrugged my shoulders. "He's probably down at the beach." I replied to my slightly peeved friend.

Kairi giggled and turned to me, eyes filled with mischief. "Want to sneak up on him?"

"Love to!" I laughed.

By the way, my name is Akira. I'm fourteen and I live on Destiny Islands with my friends: Kairi, Riku, and Sora, the one who's missing.

We walked down to the other side of the island were you saw Sora…sleeping. "Ha! I knew he'd be sleeping down here!" Kairi declared.

I laughed and asked weakly "Then why were we searching the other side of the island…" She giggled and rubbed her neck, which I think is a habit she picked up from Sora.

We walked up behind him. He opened his eyes and sat up, then yawned and laid back down. Kairi and I had bent over him so when he did lay back down he saw us looking at him making faces with wide eyes.

"Whoa!" he shouted in surprise and jolted up. He got on his knees and we starting laughing. "Gimme a break you guys!" he said, smiling.

Kairi stood up and so did I. "Sora you lazy bum," Kairi said.

"We knew we'd find you snoozing down here!" I finished. Although we really didn't know he was down there...But hey that's besides the point!

"No!" he protested, "This huge, black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't-" Kairi knocked him upside the head. "Ow…" he muttered, rubbing his now aching head.

"That was one vivid dream." I said to him._ And it sounds a lot like the one I had last night._

"It wasn't a dream!" He protested, "Or was it? I don't know..."

"Yeah sure." Kairi sighed.

She started walking towards the ocean while I sat in the sand. Sora glanced at me then turned to Kairi. "Say Kairi." He started "What was your hometown like? You know, like where you grew up." I had to say, I was curious about that too.

Ever since she had mysteriously washed up on the shores of the island, everyone wondered where she came from. _Not much different for me though._ I thought. _I just mysteriously appeared in front of the door in the secret place with no idea where I came from._

"I told you before." She giggled. "I don't remember."

"Nooothing at all?" I pushed.

"Nothing." She replied simply.

"Do you ever want to go back?" Sora asked her.

"Hmm…"she paused and tapped her chin. "Well, I like it here."

"Really." Sora drawled out, not believing her.

"But you know…" Kairi started. "I wouldn't mind going to see it!"

"I'd like to see it too!" I yelled.

"Me too!" Sora agreed. "Along with any other worlds out there! I wanna see them all."

Kairi turned around. "So what are we waiting for?" she asked smiling.

"Hey" Another voice called out to us, seeming slightly irritated. We all turned around. "Aren't you guys forgetting about me?"

A silver haired teen was settling a heavy log against his shoulder and staring at us with an amused face. Kairi waved and smiled "Hey Riku!"

"So." Riku's gaze traveled to each of ours slowly, a teasing tone in his voice. "I guess I'm the only one working on the raft."

"Not true!" I yelled. Riku smiled and threw the log he was carrying at me. I gasped and tried to catch it, but it was too heavy and I fell back onto Sora with a yelp.

Kairi giggled and Riku walked up to her. "And you're just as lazy as they are." He said pointing to me and Sora trying to get the log off.

She smiled. "Heh, so you noticed." Spreading her arms wide, she closed her eyes and tilted her chin up, looking like she was about to delcare a royal message. "Ok then, we'll finish it together!"

I finally got the log off and threw it aside. "That was mean Riku." I huffed. He just smirked.

"I'll race you!" Kairi suddenly shouted.

"Huh?" Sora said.

"Are you kidding?" Riku asked.

"No way." I added

She giggled and flashed me a look that said 'I know what I'm doing'. "Ready...Go!" Sora and Riku looked at each other, then sprang up and started racing.

Kairi was laughing and I giggled as I watched them race down the side of the beach to the little shack leading to the other side of the island. "You did that so they would get to the raft, and then do all the work didn't you?"

She winked then burst out into laughter.

Litttle did we know, Sora's dream was just the beginning of the things to come.


	2. Chapter 2: Destiny Islands

The race finished as it usually did. Riku, being 1st, Sora being 2nd. Although Sora and Riku competed all the time, poor Sora hardly got a chance to win at anything.

Riku decided he did enough work on the raft for the day and went to practice his sword fighting on the little island with the bent over Paopu tree. I decided to help gather the materials with Sora, so he didn't have to do it alone.

"So, can you guys gather the rest of the supplies?" Kairi tilted her head.

"Yeah, of course. What do we need?"

"Let's see…you need to find: Two logs, one cloth, and one rope. Got it?" Kairi said. Sora mentally repeated the things in his head and nodded. "Okay then, bring everything back here when you find them." We agreed and headed off to find the items.

"Let's see…how about the logs first." I said.

"Where are we going to find logs at?" Sora asked.

"I don't kn-" I was cut off by falling flat on my face.

"Ow, what the heck was that?" I exclaimed, spitting out sand.

Sora looked back to see a log. "Log number one, check." He said. I looked at him and saw that he was holding back laughter.

"Yeah, you laugh Sora and see what happens!" I threatened playfully. He took one look at me then started to snicker. "Okay, we found one misplaced log, now where could the other one be?" I wondered.

"I think I remember one on the island were me and Riku train." Sora said.

"Let's go check, but NO training, got it? We have to finish finding the items before you do anything else." I said to Sora.

"Alright, fine…"he reluctantly agreed.

I walked over to the island and saw Riku practicing his moves in midair. "Hey Sora, you wanna have a little one on one match?"

Sora turned to me with pleading eyes. _Awww, his face is so cute!_ I mentally slapped myself _No! Don't fall for the face!_ I shook my head. "Sorry Sora, the face isn't working!"

He sighed "Maybe later, we're collecting items for the raft." I started to head towards the back of the little island.

"I found the log!" I declared loudly. Bending over, I was about to pick it up when it was swiped away. "What the…"I muttered, looking around.

Riku was tossing the log up and down with a smirk plastered on his face. "Face me and you get this back." He said.

"Come on Riku!" I groaned.

"Yeah, give it back!" Sora said, but I could tell he didn't really mean it, now he could face Riku.

"Come on you two, hurry up, the day is wasting." Riku teased.

"Fine, but I don't feel like getting wacked on the head so I'm gonna sit this one out." I said sitting down on the tree.

"I will!" Sora said, taking his sword out of a little carrier on his back.

Riku tossed the log aside and I caught it, then sat back down to watch what was sure was going to be a short battle.

They charged and Sora swiped at Riku's feet to knock him down. He succeeded, but Riku used his arms to push himself up from the ground, kicking Sora in the gut also. Sora flew back and landed on the ground, groaning. "Come on Sora!" I cheered. He looked at me and got back up, then charged Riku again.

Riku was ready though, he blocked Sora's attack and swung, but it hit Sora's block. Sora jumped up and started to swing his sword down, but Riku rolled away. Sora missed, and Riku nailed him in the back.

"Aww man! You win…" he groaned, sitting on his knees. I walked over to help Sora up. Once he got to his feet he started laughed. "That really hurt!" he said while smiling widely. "You have to teach that to me some time." he said.

"Yeah sure, sometime." Riku agreed with a satisfied smile.

We carried the logs to Kairi and she checked it off her list. "That was fast!" she said, smiling "Now we only have a cloth and some rope to go!

"Let's gets the cloth next." I said.

"Okay." Sora nodded. "I think I saw one hanging up in the tree room." When we reached the room I pulled the cloth down and folded it up.

"Last but not least, the rope." I stated, walking out of the tree room for a better look around. "I don't see it down there…" I muttered.

Sora peered over to the other tree house. "It's probably over were Titus is." He said.

"We haven't checked there for anything, so could be." I nodded.

We walked over to the other tree house and climbed the ladder to get up. There was a coil of rope sitting in the corner of the platform and Sora walked over to pick it up.

As he slung it over his shoulder Titus climbed up the ladder "Hey guys." He said, flashing a smile at us. "Want to train a little Sora?" he pulled out the stick he used to train with. Sora was about to respond yes, but I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the ladder, then pushed him off.

Sora fell to the ground groaning. Titus snorted. "Ok then, maybe later. And remember man what I told you about getting Akira mad!" he yelled after us.

We both walked back to Kairi and handed her the cloth and rope. She gave us both a hi-potion in return. "Thanks Kairi!" I said, tucking it into a bag slung over my shoulder.

"Should we call it a day?" Kairi asked.

"No way I still have to-" I was interrupted by a yawn.

"It was getting late anyways." She giggled. "We can finish up tomorrow."

"Stupid yawn interrupting when I'm not even tried." I muttered.

We started heading towards the paopu tree island, picking up seashells along the way. After a long day of play on the island we always relax and watch the sunset before heading home. It was like a tradition between the four of us.

We went in the seaside shack and climbed up the steps to the bridge. Riku was already there at his usual spot, standing by the trunk of the tree. Sora and Kairi sat by each other and I leaned against the part of the tree that curves.

"Sooo, Kairi and Akira's homes are out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked.

"Could be." Riku replied. "We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?" I asked.

"Who knows?" Riku put his hands up in a shrug." If we have to, we'll think of something else."

"So, suppose you get to another world." Kairi started. "What would you do there?" she laughed.

"Hmm…" Riku looked off in thought. "Well I haven't really thought about it. It's just…I've always wondered why we're here, on this island. If there are any worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"

"And suppose there are other worlds…then ours is just a tiny piece of something much greater. So, we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" he asked, turning to us

"I don't know." said Sora, putting his hands behind his head and lying down.

"Exactly." Riku pointed at him. "That's why we need to go out there and find out."

He stood up and walked forward a bit. "Sitting here won't change a thing." Kairi and I shook our heads while Sora turned to face him. "It's the same old stuff. So let's just go."

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" I asked. "Thanks to Akira and Kairi." He said, turning towards us. "If you hadn't come here, I probably never would have thought of any of this…you guys, thanks."

Kairi giggled "Your welcome."

I nodded and flashed him a smile.

***KH***

After about ten minutes we decided to head back to the main island. Kairi and I walked ahead while Sora and Riku lagged behind.

"Sora." Riku called. Sora turned around and caught the thing that was thrown at him. He looked down at a star shaped fruit in his hands. "You wanted one didn't you?" Riku asked.

"A paopu fruit?" Sora scoffed.

Riku continued to walk forward. "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what."

He threw his hand up in the air. "C'mon I know you want to try it."

"What are you talking-" Sora began, but he was cut off by Riku's laughter. Becoming slightly flustered, Sora scoffed and tossed the fruit aside then jogged to catch up with the rest of the group.

***KH***

A white duck in a swirly wizard hat was walking down a long hallway, his webbed footfalls echoing through the building. A couple of walking broomsticks with buckets of water passed him in the hallway as he stopped in front of a huge door.

He coughed, and then knocked on the door. A small door appeared and the duck walked through into a large room with a long red carpet leading to a throne.

"Good morning your majesty." He quacked. He continued to walk towards the throne. "It's nice to see you this morn-" he looked up and blinked. No one was in the chair.

"What?" he screeched in shock. A yellow dog popped up from behind the throne suddenly with a muffled bark. He stepped out to face the duck, tail wagging ever so slightly

He looked curiously at the letter in the dog's mouth. Walking forward, he grasped the letter and pulled. The dog let go and scampered away. The duck scanned the letter quickly, panic growing with each sentence he read. When he finally finished the note they grew wide. He burst out the door screaming and yelling, frantically running down the hallway.

His panicked frenzy brought him into a garden filled with bushes of all shapes and sizes. He looked around and spotted what looked like a dog in armor was sleeping in some flowers. The duck ran in front of the sleeping dog and started flailing.

"Wake up Goofy! Wake up! This is serious!" he screamed. The dog continued to sleep though. "Wake up!" he yelled, pointing his finger to the sky. A bolt of lightning came down and struck the dog, jolting him awake.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking around sleepily, not seeming to be bothered by the rude awakening. "Hey there Donald. G'morning." he greeted the panicked duck.

"We got a problem Goofy!" Donald said, "But don't tell anyone…"He whispered, waving his wings for effect on 'anyone'

"Queen Minnie?" Goofy asked.

"Not even the queen." said Donald, turning his head up and closing his eyes.

"Daisy?" Goofy asked again, obviously not getting don't tell ANYONE.

"No!" Donald yelled, frustrated. "It's top secret!"

Goofy looked at someone beyond Donald and blinked. "G'morning ladies." He said with a smile.

Donald froze. "What?" he quacked, slowly turning around.

Right behind him was Queen Minnie and Daisy. Daisy coughed and put her hands on her hips. Donald laughed nervously; so much for not telling anyone

***KH***

I pulled up to the island in my boat and jumped on the dock. Selphie turned and smiled at me. "Good morning Akira." She said.

"Good morning," I replied, "Have you seen where Sora is?"

She smiled. I think he's on the other side of the island."

"Thanks Selphie!" I said, running towards the pathway to the cove.

**Sora's POV**

"Hey Sora," Riku called me over. "Our raft still needs a name. I would call it Highwind. What would you call it?"

"Me? Well…." I trailed off in thought. "How about 'The Ship' nice and creative." I laughed.

"Get real." Riku punched my arm.

"Ok fine, how about Excalibur?" I suggested.

"Hey, how 'bout we settle this with the usual?" Riku asked. I knew what he was talking about, a good old fashioned race.

"Let's do it!" I accepted the challenge.

Akira walked out of the pathway here and Kairi appeared over the bridge. "You guys at it again?" Kairi asked, rolling her eyes and smiling.

"I'll be judge!" Akira cried.

"Ok," Kairi pointed towards the direction the race was headed. "I'll be the halfway point. You guys know where that is!"

"The usual rules apply." Kairi said. Riku and I competed often enough to know what the usual rules were. "Take any path you want. First one to high-five me and then come back here and high-five Akira wins!"

Akira walked up to the finish line and was waiting for Kairi's call to tell her when to start the race. "If I win, I'm captain!" I cried. "And if you win…" I trailed off thinking.

"I get to share the paopu fruit with Akira or Kairi." Riku said smirking

"Huh?" I yelled in shock.

"Deal?" Riku went on. "The winner gets to share a paopu fruit with their pick. You can't have both of them Sora."

"Wha…wait a minute!" I cried, feeling my cheeks heating up.

Akira tilted her head when a faint whistle was heard then smiled and jumped. "Ok. On my count," she raised her arm. _Alright, _Sora thought to himself, _I have to win this. _Riku and I got into ready positions.

"Three...two…one…go!" she cried. I sprang up and ran as fast as I could go.

**Akira's POV**

_Sora seems really set on winning this race…_ I thought. His face was serious and he sprinted as soon as I yelled go. She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of shoes. Sora was actually in the lead, running around the zip line.

I held out my hand as he crossing the bridge when all of a sudden, it dropped from under his feet. I gasped and cried "Sora, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He responded quickly, trying to get back up, but his attempts were failing, and Riku ran up and high-fived me.

"Winner Riku!" I cried, holding up his hand. I heard a groan from Sora from bellow and I felt a little sorry for him.

I went over and offered my hand to him. He looked at me, and smiling, took it. I haled him up, and boy was he soaking. He walked over to Riku, who smiled smugly. "Alright we're naming the raft Highwind." He said. Sora glared at him and I got a feeling that more than just naming the raft was on the line.

I turned to see Kairi about to jump the gap and I went to help in case she lost her balance. "I call Akira." Riku whispered. Sora snapped his head to look at him. Seeing Sora's face he smiled.

"Hey Sora, you know I'm just kidding about the paopu fruit right?" Sora breathed a sigh of relief, and Riku laughed harder.

"I'm going to go check on the raft, "Kairi said to me. "I think I left the list for the food there."

I called Sora over and asked him to come with us to collect food. "Sure." He said, and then he grabbed my hand out of nowhere. I blushed, surprised by the sudden display of affection. We held hands when we were little all the time, but that was such a long time ago.

Sora sent a smirk back at Riku, that just made him fall down from laughing. Yeah, my embarrassment is hilarious Riku.

Sora looked at me, then seeing the blush realized what he did and let go of my hand, blushing as well. That didn't really help anything. "Ummm, let's just catch up with Kairi." I mumbled.

"Yeah ok…" he mumbled back. We started to walk to the raft in awkward silence.

We walked to the raft to find Kairi rummaging through a bag of stuff. "Hey Kairi, we're here to help!" I said.

"Good, because today, we're going to collect provisions for our trip!"

I felt the awkwardness still in the air, and I wanted to lighten the mood. I jumped up and yelled "Hazzah!" Sora and Kairi looked at me with raised eyebrows then they both started to giggle.

"Ok then…" Kairi shook her head and smiled. She pulled a piece of paper from the bag and handed it to me. "Here's the list, hope you find everything!"

"No problem Kairi! You can count on us! Sora and I will find everything!" I turned to him.

"Right Sora?"

"Right."

"Ok, here is everything we need to find…one seagull egg, three mushrooms, two coconuts, three fish, and we have to fill this up with drinking water." I said, pulling out an empty water bottle.

Sora took it and started walking towards the ocean. "Not from the ocean dummy!" I called laughing. I grabbed the water bottle and put it in my bag. "Let's find the sea gull egg first; I think I saw a nest over here…" I said wondering over to a tree.

I climbed and grabbed the egg from the top of the tree. "Got it!" I said, waving it around. I paused as the high pitched call of a seagull sounded above my head. Looking up slowly I watched several seagulls start a quick descent towards me.

"AHHHH, SEAGULL ATTACK!" I slid down the tree and started running away, the seagulls flying after me. Sora shook his head and laughed, following from a distance

**Sora's POV**

I decided to find the mushrooms, to give Akira a break. I think she is going to have a fear of seagulls now. Let's see...I'm pretty sure there's some mushrooms in the secret place. I walked in the hole through the bushes and entered a pathway to the secret place.

When I come in, I always love seeing all the drawings we made on walls. Running my hand along the walls, I glanced at all the different stories and pictures we came up with. There was one that was my favorite out of all those, by the strange door with no handle on it. It was of me and Akira, we drew each other when we were about six or seven.

I walked over to it, and what do you know! I found the mushroom. What a coincidence. I picked up the mushroom and looked at the drawing.

I put my hand on the drawing, reminiscing on memories. Feeling a sudden urge to add on the picture something that was missing, I picked up a rock and started to draw.

When I finished, I sat back and looked at my finished work. Feeling pride for my 'artistic talent' I examined it till a weird feeling entered my gut. A suspicious feeling that somebody was watching me...

I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and I jumped up and whirled around. "Wh-Who's there?" There was a man in a brown cloak that concealed his face.

"I've come to see the door to this world." He said in a deep, almost tired and bored, voice.

Okay, that made no sense. "Huh?" Was my oh-so-smart response.

"This world has been connected." He continued on in a emotionless voice.

Dude, who is this creep? "Wh-What are you talking about?"

He ignored me. "Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this...Huh?" It suddenly dawned on me he just appeared out of nowhere. "Where did you come from?"

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door." Again, not answering my question. Wait, dark and mysterious, appeared out of nowhere…

"So you're from another world!" I gasped in surprise.

"There is so very much to learn, you understand so little." Did he just call me stupid?

"Oh yeah! Well you'll see! I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing." I turned to stare at the door, wondering if he came through there, but when I turned back he was gone. Ok, that was really creepy. Note to self, don't mention this to anyone, they will think you're crazy. I turned to exit the secret place.

**Akira's POV**

Ok, I officially hate seagulls. I was still picking freaking feathers out of my hair next to Kairi who was tying some seashells together. "Whatcha making?" I leaned over her shoulder to peer at the craft in the making.

"What this?" she asked, holding it up. "It's a necklace made of thalassa shells. In the old days sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage."

"That's cool. Could you teach me how to make one?" I asked.

"Sure!" she replied happily. "Just as soon as I'm done making this one." As I watched her fingers weave through the shells, Sora walked up to us with the rest of the supplies.

"Thanks Sora! I found something today, too. Here, it's yours." She handed him a Hi-Potion. Then she turned to me. "Tired? Want to call it a day?"

"Yes, let's get out of here before the seagulls come for the night." she giggled and Sora smiled.

"Ok, we should rest up, tomorrow's the big day!" As we walked to the docks Kairi paused "What a pretty sunset…we should stay and watch!"

I looked at the setting sun stretching vivid colors across the sky and yawned "I would love to Kairi, but I'm pretty beat. I'm going to head home." Riku agreed to that, but Sora decided to stay behind and watch the sunset with her.

***KH***

"You know, Riku has changed." Kairi stated after a couple minutes of silence.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Well…" She hesitated.

"You ok?" he asked, turning to her.

"Hey Sora, let's take the raft and go—just the two of us!"

"Huh?" He gave a confused glance at her and she laughed.

"Just kidding!"

"What's gotten into you?" Sora asked laughing. "You're the one that's changed, Kairi."

"Maybe…" She said trailing off. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go, or what I see, I know I can always come back here."

She turned to Sora. "Right?" "Yeah, of course!" he agreed. Kairi turned back to the sunset, reassured.

"That's good….Sora don't ever change." she said with a serious tone of voice.

"Huh?" he asked confused.

She smiled again and stood up. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."

***KH***

_Donald, sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I gotta go check into it._

_There's two people with a "key"—the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find them and stick with them. Got it? We need them both or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

_P.S. would you apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks pal._

"Oh dear! What could this mean?" Daisy cried.

"It means we'll just have to trust the king." Queen Minnie replied calmly, although she was fairly worried on the inside.

"Gawrsh, I sure hope he's all right." Goofy tapped his chin while Donald stood up straighter.

"You're Highness. Don't worry. We'll find king and both of these 'keys'."

"Thank you, both of you." Minnie said.

"Daisy, can you take care of-" Daisy interrupted him, knowing what he was going to say.

"Of course. You be careful now, both of you."

Minnie gasped, remembering something. "Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." She gestured to the table.

Donald, seeing no one, leaned in to get a closer look. A cricket was jumping up and down on the table. "Over here!" he cried. "Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service." He took off his hat and bowed.

"We hope for your safe return. Please help the king." Donald stood with a serious face and placed his wing on his chest. He looked at Queen Minnie, Daisy, and Goofy at the end of the line. He saluted to Donald, and Donald sweatdropped.

He grabbed his arm and yanked the saluting dog with him. "You're coming too!"

After walking down swirly stairs lighted by Mickey Mouse shaped lights on the wall, Goofy turned to the cricket sitting on his shoulder with a curious expression. "Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared too?"

"It was terrible!" He shuddered, remembering the day. "We were scattered. And as far as I see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle."

"Goofy?" Donald asked, a little warningly.

"Oh right…I gotcha." Goofy said, catching the drift this was a test to see if he remembered the number one rule when traveling to other worlds. "While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where were from. We gotta protect the world border."

"Order." Donald corrected.

"Right, world order." He laughed and Donald sighed. Goofy then remembered that they would look different than anyone else in the worlds. "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there."

They walked into a room that was full of mechanics and machines of all kinds. In the middle of it all was a funny looking ship.

Donald walked up to a device that went into the ground. It kinda looked like a megaphone. "Hello up there?" he yelled into it. "Donald Duck to launch crew. Anytime you're ready." His voice was carried through the device and out the other end of it to a chipmunk.

The chipmunk saluted and another chipmunk ran by and pulled down a lever. Stem blow out of the machines and the wheels cranked faster. Two hands picked up Donald and Goofy, both upside down, to the ship. A yellow dog ran and jumped in before it could leave also.

Lights flashed, and a door shaped like the Mickey Mouse symbol begins to slide open. The ship was raised to face the doorway. Daisy and the Queen looked up at the ship and Donald flashed them a thumbs up and a wink before he yelled "Blast off!"

A door opened up below the ship and it fell down, Donald and Goofy screaming the whole way. As soon as they were clear of the world, the rockets started and the ship zoomed off.

***KH***

I was laying down in my bed in my PJ's thinking about all that was going to happen tomorrow. We were finally going to get off the island! Not that I don't like the islands, I love them. It's where I grew up, and met Sora and Riku.

How we met was kind of fuzzy for me, but evertime I ask what happened, they tell me it went something like this…

***KH***

"Hey Sora, what do think is down this way?" a six year old Riku asked a five year old Sora. They were looking at a passage way near the waterfall that led down a dark passage way.

"I don't know,…maybe a…monster or something!" Sora replied, looking excited. Riku mentally facepalmed, that kid listened to way to many adventure stories.

"Come on!" Sora yelled, and he ran in the passage. Riku sighed and followed Sora in. The passage continued for a little while, until it opened up into cave.

Sora groaned in disappointment. "Awww man! There's nothing here!" He was really hoping that he was going to fight a monster or something.

"Not really, Sora, look!" Riku pointed towards the back of the cave. A strange door was there with no handle, but what was even more interesting was the _girl _sleeping in front of the door.

"Who is she? I've never seen her on the main island before." Sora stated.

Riku shrugged and started to walk towards the girl. He sat down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently. "Hey, hey, girl! Wake up!"

She wouldn't budge. Sora, who was behind Riku, widened his eyes. "Maybe she's dead!" he yelled. Riku froze for a moment, then he saw the faint rise and fall of her chest, signaling she was still alive.

"Maybe she's just a heavy sleeper." Sora said, and he pushed past Riku and put his hand on her shoulder. There was a little flash of light at his touch, and the girl opened her eyes, reveling that they were a brilliant green.

Sora and Riku were startled and jumped back. "Whoa!" they both yelled.

The girl sat up and looked around. "Where am I?" she asked.

Sora's face suddenly brightened and he bounded forward. "You're at Destiny Islands! I'm Sora and that's Riku." He gestured back at Riku. "What's your name?"

She stared at Sora for a moment before hugging him tightly and whispering "I was so worried about you..."

***KH***

I couldn't tell why I thought I met Sora before. I strong sense of familiarity just fills me whenever I see him. It's all very strange, but I've never mentioned it in more then subtle hints.

And I still don't remember anything that happened before I was six. It's a total blank. I lived with some people who are friends with Sora's parents. They aren't really my parents, but they treat me like I'm their daughter.

I sighed and started to close my eyes until I heard a boom of thunder. I sat bolt upright and looked out my window. Dark clouds covered the sky and lightning flashed over the island where we all hang out. "Oh look a storm." I said to myself, not really caring. Then my eyes widened as a sudden panic filled me "Wait a minute, the raft!" I yelled and jumped up.

"I don't want to have to do all that work all over again!" I cried and I threw some clothes on and was about to fling my door open and rush downstairs until I realized my parents would never let me row to the island in this weather.

I turned to the window and looked at my covers. Alright, that will work, and I threw one end of my cover out the window, secured the other end, and began to climb down.

***KH***

"Akira! Time for dinner!" a voice echoed from downstairs. Hearing no response the voice called again "Akira?" all that answered her was the blowing of the wind.

***KH***

As I secured my boat to the raft I saw that Riku, Sora, and Kairi's boats were here as well. Good, extra strength will help getting the raft somewhere safe. I running towards where we docked the raft when shadows started to grow on the ground.

The little pools of darkness started to form into shapes and I was frozen in horror as the things from my dream materialized in front of me. I started to back up, and the things started to do the same. I took another step, and they took another step.

Seeing that was useless, I turned and ran, but they caught up with me and flung themselves at me. I screamed as one raised its arm and prepared to strike me down.


	3. Chapter 3: Attack on the Island

As I held up my hand to block the attack, there was a flash of light and the monsters vaporized. I opened my eyes to see a sort of sword in my hand. _Wield the Heartblade well Pure Heart…"_Great now there was voices in my head." I muttered.

I looked at the weapon again. It was pure white with golden stripes going up the blade. At the top of the blade was a golden heart sticking out and facing sideways. It looked like the heart was ready to swipe through anything. The handles looked like wings and at the end hung a key chain with a golden pendant that looked like a rain drop with a ruby in it.

As the monsters appeared again, I began to panic. Sure I sword fought with Sora and Riku before, but that was just games. They were way better than me anyways! This wasn't just a game either...

_Ok Heartblade; let's see what you've got._ I thought as they came closer, I swung the Heartblade at one and it slide through it cleanly, making it vaporize. _Maybe this won't be too hard; I just have to get into rhythm…_

The others came after me and I backed up a little. One jumped and slashed at me. I blocked, but two more had come behind me and slashed my back.

I gritted my teeth in pain and jumped back. There were too many, and I was too inexperienced with this Heartblade, or whatever it is.

I looked up towards the island with the paopu tree and saw Riku looking out to the ocean calmly, as if nothing was happening. Sora came running out of the shack and onto the bridge towards Riku.

Might as well go up there too. I began to run towards the shack, dodging the dark whatever-they-are things. I reached the island panting as Riku muttered something about a door opening.

Sora turned towards me and I could see the panic and confusion flashing in his eyes. Then, seeing I wasn't hurt, he turned back towards Riku. The sliver haired teen whispered something, but the words were stolen by the roaring winds.

"What?" Sora asked, not quite hearing either.

"The door has opened, Sora!" he said a little forcefully. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What door?" I asked.

He turned towards me. "I would think you of all people would know, Akira." I blinked, confused.

"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!" Sora yelled. I remembered her boat docked and my stomach flipped nervously.

"You haven't seen her?"

Sora shook his head.

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku said. Sora stepped, back, a little shocked at his forceful tone of voice. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back." He said, staring at a great ball of darkness in the sky that I shot a nervous glance at.

"We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" It was then I noticed his eyes were slightly glazed over and had a dangerous look to them.

He held out his hand, an offering to join him, or turn away. "Riku…" Sora hesitated and it came out sounding like a question.

"Sora…" I whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "I have a bad feeling about this."

A dark portal opened under Riku and we both gasped. The dark tendrils started to cover Riku's body. I jumped back in surprise, but Sora, however, seemed to have a different thought in mind.

He ran forward, but paused when the darkness started to climb up his feet. He looked down and stretched his hand out to Riku, but was out of reach. He almost grabbed it, then the darkness covered Riku whole.

Sora panicked and tried to get away, but to no avail. He shot one terrified look at me before being swallowed too.

I sat, petrified, eyes stretched wide. Two of my closest friends had just disappeared, and I would probably never see them again. Tears started to form in my eyes and slide down my cheeks.

What would I tell Kairi? Where is Kairi? Great, that's three best friends. And I'm probably next.

All of a sudden, there was a flash of light and Sora appeared again, this time with a new weapon in his hand.

It was shaped like a key, sliver blade and golden handle with a three circled key chain hanging off of it. As I saw it, the Heartblade went berserk. It jerked up and pulled towards the key, not really caring it was dragging me.

Sora looked at the empty spot the portal had appeared. No one was there. Riku was gone. He heard a soft clang and looked down. The Heartblade had stopped pulling me and its tip was touching the key in Sora's hand. Golden strands of light wrapped around the blades then traveled up our arms and disappeared.

I heard the voice in my head again _The connection was made. The Heartblade has chosen. Go forth Pure Heart… _

This was making absolutely no sense! What connection? What door? Why would _I_ know about it? A hand appeared in front of my face breaking my concentration.

I looked up and saw Sora holding his hand out to me with a determined expression on his face. I took his hand and he helped me up. I didn't say anything. I don't think I could have. His best friend, practically his brother, disappeared right in front of him. I don't think I could offer any friendly advice at the moment.

_Keyblade….Heartblade….Keyblade….Heartblade…._

There was the voice again. I could tell Sora heard it too. His head perked up and he looked around. Don't bother, there's no one there.

We both held our weapons in a fighting stance as more little demons appeared. Even though Sora now had a shiny new weapon too, we were still outnumbered.

Sora glared at the things and swung his weapon (I'm guessing that's the Keyblade) at them. They were vaporized into darkness. I joined the slaying of the darkness. But no matter how many we killed, twice that numbered swarmed from the darkness.

"Sora!" I raised my voiced against the wind. "There are too many! We have to run for it!" He didn't look pleased about running away, but when even more appeared his view quickly changed and he nodded.

We ran to the bridge and out of the shack, swinging our weapons when needed. "To the secret place!" Sora yelled. We both ran towards it. Instead of the opening that was usually there, it was the door that I walked through in my dream.

We stood in front of it, and then pushed it open together. Sora walked straight in, but I was a little more hesitant. Something didn't feel right about the place. I squealed when I felt the brush of something against my leg and jumped inside. The door closed shut behind me.

It was eerily quiet, not like the peacefully quiet it usually was. My nerves were on edge and I jumped when I saw a figure standing in front of the door without a handle. Sora stopped me from raising my blade.

"Kairi!" he yelled. I relaxed, but tensed again when I saw her eyes. They were blank. Devoid of any spark of her usual happy self. She looked strained and tired.

"Sora…" she groaned softly. Sora looked startled by her change too. She slowly raised her hand towards us, when the door flew open and a strong wind blew out.

Kairi came flying towards Sora. I yelled his name to snap him out of his trance. He spread his arms wide to catch her.

Both our eyes widened as Kairi _passed_ right through Sora. Like she wasn't even there. The door blew a sudden gust of strong wind and we both when flying out.

Sora grunted as he landed hard on his stomach. I landed on my back. We sat, winded until I opened my eyes and saw (from an upside down view) the thing standing in front of me.

I let out a scream. It was the giant that was, again, from my dream. Sora shook his head and got on his knees. He was facing the opposite direction and saw that the island was cut off right in front of him. There was no ground, just open air.

We were on a floating piece of the island; it looked like all that was left. What looked like a black hole hovered menacingly above the piece of the island, its surface rippling with black electricity. The thing was just standing there, looking at us. Sora had taken out his Keyblade, and I summoned the Heartblade.

It looked the same as my dream, but ten times more terrifying. This was actually happening. Not just a dream. You wouldn't wake up right before you get killed. I grimaced and raised my head to look at its face.

"Aren't you a little too tall?" I muttered. Sora gave a quick smirk before running towards it. The thing raised a hand and slammed towards the ground. Sora jumped to avoid the shock wave. I raised the Heartblade and threw it at the thing's hand before it could pull it up.

As the Heartblade made contact, it drew the hand up quickly. Sora jumped and swung his Keyblade at the other hand. It got quickly agitated and the heart shaped hole in that was on its stomach began to glow.

Four balls of dark energy flew out. Two came for me and two went for Sora. "Swing your blade to block it back at him!" Sora called holding his Keyblade ready. Well, you sound like you've done this before…oh wait you probably have.

I held my blade steady and when they made contact I swung it outward. Following Sora's block, they flew back at it and struck it in the face. He growled in pain and held it with his hand. _Looks like we found your weak spot_ I grinned.

"Sora, get up on that arm when he brings it back down and swing at his face!" he nodded and started running to gain momentum. I ran towards the other arm and jumped on. We both reached the face and swung our blade horizontally at its face.

It held it with both of its hand this time. "Yeah! How's that!" I yelled.

"Want another one?" Sora joined in "Here we…" his voice faded off as the ground began to split open.

The black hole in the sky was crackling with dark energy. The wind began to pick up as the ground starting shaking and moving up. "It's sucking us in!" I yelled. I could feel it pulling everything towards it. The monster flew up and was quickly engulfed by the shadows and dark lightening.

My feet slipped out from under me and I began sliding up. I let out a shriek and tried to swing around and grab something. Nothing was near my grasp however and I begin to slide again.

I scrabbled at the ground, trying to get a grip on something when a hand gripped my wrist. I looked up and saw Sora hanging with one hand on a plank of wood and the other on my wrist.

The wind had lifted us off the ground and I didn't think Sora's grasp would last much longer. Just as I thought that, his hand slowly began to slide. His fingers turned white from holding on so hard, but it wasn't enough. The wind ripped away his grasp on the wood and we both screamed as we were sucked into the darkness.

***KH***

Goofy and Donald walked into a town square of the new world. Goofy looked up with a gasp. Donald turned around, and quacked a question of why he stopped.

Goofy slowly pointed his finger towards the sky. "Look! A star's goin' out!" He yelled. Donald wowed and they both stared in awe as the blinking star flashed once, and was gone.

"Come on, let's hurry." Donald said, worried by the disappearing of another star. Goofy nodded and they continued walking.

They had already circled the town once and Donald was beginning to get agitated. "Where is that key…?" Donald muttered.

"There's two keys Donald." Goofy said cheerfully.

"Whatever." Donald quaked, waving his wing.

"Hey you know, maybe we ought to find Leon." Goofy suggested. As they reached the top of the stairs again, Donald turned right while Goofy turned to watch their yellow dog go left, nose to the ground.

"Uh, Donald…Ya know, I betcha that-"

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald growled and continued to walk on.

"What do I know?" Goofy asked himself. "Hmm… Come on Pluto." He called to the dog, and walked off. The dog however continued to sniff until he reached a heap of abandoned boxes and crates.

He walked behind it and saw a boy leaned up against the wall, apparently sleeping. The dog sniffed and evaluating that he wasn't waking up, licked his face.

The boy groaned and slowly opened his eyes. The dog, happy that he was able to wake him, sat to wait patiently with his tail wagging for the boy to fully wake up.

**Sora's POV**

I groaned and put my hand to my head. It was pounding and I felt a bump where my head was. I thought I might have fell and hit my head in the Secret Place, or maybe a coconut hit me in the head... whatever it was it caused me to have quite a dream.

The monsters I had dreamt of before came and attacked the island, Riku disappeared, Kairi passed through me like a ghost, and Akira got sucked in a dark electric thing. "What a dream…" I muttered, nodding back to sleep.

I jolted awake as something jumped and pounded my stomach. Thinking it was Kairi and Akira playing another trick on me I sat up quickly and looked around, ready to tell them to knock it off when I came face to face with a yellow dog. The dog cheerfully barked at me. "This isn't a dream!" I shouted. Everything really did disappear…

I stood up and looked around. I was in an alley of some sort. "Where I'm I?" I wondered out loud. Wherever I was, it defiantly wasn't anywhere on or near the island. The reality of the situation hit me. "Oh boy…" I sighed.

I looked at the dog. Well, maybe I'm on another world. Maybe dogs could talk here. I bent down to his level "Do you know where we are?" I asked. The dog lifted his ear and ran off. "Hey!" I yelled. Well so much for that idea.

Might as well explore some, maybe someone can tell me where I am. I walked out of the alley way and into what seemed to be the main square. There was an open restaurant, two giant doors, one to the left of me and one dead ahead. In the square was two lamp posts and an odd looking mailbox.

There was a shop of some kind behind me and neon signs everywhere blinking different names and advertisements. "This is totally weird…" I muttered. It would have been exciting if my friends were here.

Sadness filled me at the thought of them, where could they have gone? What happened to them? I looked to the square. Despite all the neon advertisements and interesting looking shops, no one was out. Maybe the shop behind me would know. I turned and pushed the door open.

It was a cozy little shop with two couches and a table in a corner and a nice fireplace that gave a warm glow to the shop. There was a man behind the counter reading a magazine with a toothpick in his mouth.

He turned to the sound of a bell at the top of the door ringing. "Hey there, how can I…" he faltered as he saw me. "Aw, it's only a kid." And turned back to the magazine. I was highly offended by that dismissive gesture.

"I'm not a kid! And the name's Sora!" I snapped.

"Okay, okay, simmer down." He put this magazine down. "Why the long face, Sora? You lost or somethin'?"

Yes I am lost! I'm so lost! Please help me! Too bad I don't roll that way. "No! Well, maybe…Where are we?"

"Huh? You don't even know the name of the town?" Cid flicked his nose. "Well, this is Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town…" I thought of other questions. "So gramps," he tensed at the name gramps. "Is this really another world? What happened to my island? Where are my friends?"

"Whoa hold your horses kid! And don't call me gramps! The name's Cid!" he yelled. Then he flicked his toothpick. "Anyway…Not sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your island." I hung my head and sighed.

"You mentioned your friend's right? They're probably on their way too. Take a look around."

He seemed serious. At least that would give me something to do. "Alright I guess I'll start looking for them now." I headed towards the door.

"Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing." He called after me. "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you." He flicked his nose.

I grinned and looked back before walking out the door "Thanks gramps."

He smirked.

As I walked out the door I sighed. This might take a while. I walked back the way I had come and up a flight of stairs then pressed my hands against a doorway. Before I opened it, a sign beside the door caught my attention. It said Second District, but beneath it was a sign nailed on. It read 'Heartless danger. Enter at your own risk.'

I gulped and pushed the door open. As soon as I walked through a man tripped right in front of me. I jumped back, startled. He looked so terrified, and his chest began to glow. A light flashed and a shiny red item flew out of his chest. "Is that…his heart?" I yelled. That is disturbing.

The heart flew into a dark portal and darkness surrounded the now limp body. The body disappeared and the dark portal turned into one of the monsters. It was bigger with a helmet on this time though. It jumped up in the air and disappeared.

I ran out a bit with the Keyblade in hand. As the ones I was familiar with swarmed out of shadows on the ground. "It's those creatures from the island!" I yelped. Did they follow me here?

As one stepped closer I swung my blade forward made contact with its head. It disappeared and another replaced it. I threw the Keyblade and it went through multiple shadows. Catching it as it swung back to me, I swung the blade downward but the shadow sunk down into the ground.

Huh. I guess that's it. I felt a piercing pain in my back and turned to see the shadow digging its claws into my back. I winced and reached back to snatch an antenna and threw it off. It hit the wall and disappeared into the shadows.

I reached back and felt warm liquid on my shoulder. Pulling my hand back I saw my fingers were all red. Okay, this might be too much for me right now. I ran back to the First District.

When I entered everything was quiet. Then a scream pierced the air and five shadows appeared in front of me. I blocked one of the shadows and swung my Keyblade threw it, and then ran for Cid's shop.

I ran inside and slammed the door. "Jeez kid, you left for like five minutes." Cid scoffed as he put down the magazine.

"Do you by any chance have any potions on you?" I panted. He tossed me one and I poured it down my back.

"Next time don't come back in five minutes." He said. "Be safe kid."

I walked out, ready to start my search again but I froze as a man stepped into my path "They'll come at you out of nowhere."

I tensed. "Who are you?"

He ignored me. "And they'll keep on coming at you," he raised a pointed finger at the Keyblade. "As long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

"But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" he sounded strained and he lifted a hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" I shouted. What is with all the offensive people here?

"Never mind. Now, let's see that Keyblade." He started to walk forward with his hand outstretched.

"What? There's no way you're getting this!" The man stopped walking and pulled a weapon behind his back. It looked like a cross between a gun and a sword.

"All right, then have it your way." He held out his weapon in front of him.

He jumped at me, but I rolled out of the way. I tried to attack him from behind, but he turned around and blocked my attack. I tried a downward strike, but he blocked that too.

He countered with a horizontal slash that send me tumbling backwards. "Oww…" I groaned. I jumped away at the sound of a swish to see the blade hit the area my head was occupying seconds ago. I winced, thinking of how bad that would have ended.

He started to slowly walk forward weapon raised. Its tip started to glow and a fireball shot out. I jumped out of the way. This guy is a lot harder than I thought he would be.

The fight went on for about a minute longer, mostly involving me running away from fireballs. I jumped out of the way of another one then turned and threw the Keyblade at him.

He dodged the first hit, but it smacked the back of his head coming back. He kneeled down, holding the back of his head with one hand.

I thought he was down because he wasn't moving, but he suddenly sprang up and knocked me backwards.

I got up, feeling tired. I tried to swing at him, but my arms were too tried and he easily blocked. I could tell he was panting though. At least I wore him out.

"Now…you're…gonna...you're gonna…" I fell backwards and everything blacked out.

***KH***

"Aw, you're slipping, Leon." A female voice taunted behind the man. He turned around and saw a girl with short black hair standing there. A girl was behind her. "Lookie who I've found while you were busy."

The girl ran to the boy and began to shake him, but he wouldn't wake up. She then glared at Leon. "I went easy on him." He scoffed. That did nothing to cease the death glare.

He looked at the black haired girl. "Yuffie, who did you find? His girlfriend or something?"

Yuffie shook her head and pointed to the girl again. "Look what's in her hand."

Leon turned and saw a similar looking weapon to the boy's. "The Heartblade." He murmured. As if in response, the Heartblade glowed, and the Keyblade flashed in response to that.

"Looks like things are worse than we thought." Leon said to Yuffie. "A lot worse."

***KH***

"Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky." Goofy said a finger on his chin. They were walking behind what appeared to be a hotel of some sort.

"Aw, phooey. I'm not scared." Donald quaked, holding his head high. A hand came behind him and taped his shoulder. He screeched and jumped up. He landed on Goofy's back, and he hung on to his neck.

"Excuse me." a girl's voice echoed behind them." They slowly turned their heads to see a girl with big bangs and hair tied with a pink ribbon. She had bright green eyes. "Did the king send you?"


	4. Chapter 4: New Friends

I sighed and sat down on a couch in the hotel room. It has been quite the day. After Sora and I got sucked into the dark energy, I had woken up on a roof. Yes, a roof. And surprisingly someone was up there with me. She was starting at me too.

"Um… hi?" I half waved my hand towards her.

She pulled me up to my feet "Hi! I'm the great ninja Yuffie! And I need you to come with me right now!" I could imagine my brain sparking as it tried to process the blur of words that came out of this girl's mouth.

I would have probably said no, but then she suddenly pushed me off the roof. Luckily there was a shop with a canopy below me! Geez, this chick is crazy.

So I went to find Squall (he says to call him Leon, but I like Squall better) with her. And that's how I found Sora. Leon had knocked him out, obviously the talking things out didn't work.

So we brought him to the hotel. Leon promised to explain everything, but we had to wait until Sora woke up. That might be a while.

Yuffie walked into the room. "Anything yet?" she asked.

"No, he's still out." I replied.

She giggled "How long can one kid sleep?"

"You have no idea." I laughed.

Yuffie shook her head then walked over to were Sora was resting and poked his forehead several times. "Come on, lazy bum! Wake up!" she yelled.

I stiffened. That sounded a lot like Kairi. It seemed to do the trick though. Sora opened his eyes a bit and started at Yuffie. "You ok?" she asked.

He nodded. "I guess."

"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade."

Sora started at Yuffie for a bit. "I'm so glad you're okay, Kairi." He said, words slightly slurred in a sleepy manner. I facepalmed.

"Kairi? You mean Akira's friend? I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" She declared.

Sora's face looked blank. "Huh?" he blinked and looked at Yuffie again.

"I think you might have over done it Squall." Yuffie called back.

"Yeah, you didn't have to beat him that hard!" I cried in agreement.

"That's Leon." He calmly said, ignoring me. Sora looked at the desk beside the bed. His blade was lying there. "The Keyblade…" he muttered.

"Yeah, about that." Yuffie began. "We had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that's how they were tracking you." Leon crossed his arms. "It was the only way to conceal you're heart from them. But it won't work for long."

I gave a nervous laugh. "Weird huh?" Sora looked over at me, seeming to notice I was there for the first time.

"Akira! You're all right!" I smiled.

"Yeah, as much as a girl that just went through a life changing experience can be." His lip twitched a quick smile. "Hey Squall! He's up now! Story time!" I turned towards him.

"That's Leon." He muttered.

"She's right Squall, you did say when he wakes up." Yuffie agreed.

"I still can't believe that you two of all people are the chosen ones." Leon said as he picked up the Keyblade.

I twitched, offended. Sora looked up, not really understanding. Leon held up the Keyblade and in a flash of light it returned to Sora's hand.

"Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." Sora looked around, not getting why these two strangers were acting so nonchalant about this.

"Why don't you start making sense? What's going on here?" Leon sighed and got ready to explain.

***KH***

"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there, besides you're castle and this town, right?" the girl, named Aerith, was talking with Donald and Goofy in another hotel room.

"Yeah." Donald said. Goofy covered his mouth. "But there supposed to be a secret." He was muffled by his hands.

"They've been a secret because they've never been connected. Until now." Aerith explained. "When the Heartless came, everything changed." She closed her eyes, remembering.

***KH***

"The Heartless?" Sora asked.

"The little demons." I muttered.

"The ones who attacked you, remember?" Yuffie said, making more sense.

"Those without hearts." Leon's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"The darkness in people's heart's-that's what attracts them." Yuffie finished, sitting down on the bed.

"And there is darkness within every heart." Leon said, but paused and looked at me. "The only exception being the Pure Heart." I remembered the voice from the island calling me that.

"Their heart is filled with light, not a trace of darkness."

"You mean this thing?" I asked summoning the blade. Leon nodded a frown on his face.

"Why so glum about it?" I asked nervously.

Yuffie interrupted before Leon could answer. "Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?"

***KH***

"Ansem?" Goofy put his hand to his chin in thought.

"He was studying the Heartless." Aerith said. "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."

Donald started tapping his foot in an irritated rhythm.

"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?" Goofy asked, holding out his hand.

Aerith shook her head. "Its pages are scattered everywhere."

"Scattered?" Donald quaked, surprised. His foot stopped tapping.

"To many worlds." Aerith confirmed.

"Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em." Goofy concurred, his fist pounded in his other hand. Donald nodded.

"Yes, those were my thoughts exactly." Aerith said.

"We gotta find him quick!" Goofy panicked.

"Wait!" Donald yelled and Goofy paused in his conniption. "First we need those keys!"

"That's right." Aerith nodded. "The Keyblade and its partner, the Heartblade."

***KH***

"So…this is the Key?" Sora said, holding it out.

"Exactly!" Yuffie nodded.

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade." Leon said. He turned to me. "And as I said before, a Pure Heart can wield the Heartblade, so it too is pure."

"Although the Heartless are attracted and created by darkness, they thirst for the light in people's hearts. So will go to great lengths to get a heart filled with light." He explained. My hopes deflated and fear replaced it.

"So they will chase after me more, not run in fear?"

Yuffie shook her head. "Not necessarily. Haven't you heard the legend?"

"What legend?" Sora and I asked at the same time.

"The one Purest of Heart will open the door with the Keyblade master leading to everlasting Light…" Yuffie paused and shot Leon a glance before continuing. "To vanquish the masters of Darkness."

"And that's…me?" I asked dubiously.

"It's the Purest of Heart, and the Pure Hearts wield the Heartblade, and lookie what you got in your hand!" Yuffie said cheerfully.

I only grunted, probably just a fairy tale someone started spreading around during a time of doom to make people feel better. There was no way someone like that was me.

"That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."

"Well I didn't ask for this." Sora rose his voice in aggrivation while I voiced my disagreement too.

"The Keyblade chooses its master, just like the Heartblade chooses a Keyblade to connect with."

"_The Heartblade has chosen, the connection was made." _That voice is starting to creep me out now. It said like everything Sq…Leon and Yuffie did. Can Sora hear it too? I wonder…

"And both of them chose you!" Yuffie finished.

"So, tough luck." Leon said calmly, leaning against the door.

"I don't…" I began, but Sora cut me off.

"How did all this happen?" he cried.

"I remember being in my room…" He gasped loudly and stood up, starling Yuffie and me and causing us to fall off the bed. "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku? Kairi…" he drifted off and I frowned.

"You know what? I really don't know." Leon said, not helping. Silence filled the room after that statement.

"You know what; I've heard the Keyblade can open all kinds of locks. You should try it next time you find a chest or something." Yuffie said, trying to break the silence.

"Sooner or later the Heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourselves." Leon told both of us.

"Prepare ourselves?" Sora tilted his head.

"To fight for your life." Leon answered.

"That's pleasant." I muttered.

"Are you ready?" he asked. We looked at each other. "I…guess. Yeah." Sora decided. Leon turned to Yuffie.

"Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there by now with the other visitors."

Yuffie started walking towards the door, but she tensed and turned to the other side of the room. "Leon!" she screamed and pointed.

We snapped our gazes to the corner of the room and saw a Heartless appear out of a dark portal. It was the kind that had a helmet and armor on, like a soldier. "Yuffie, go!" Leon shouted. Yuffie turned and slammed the door open to the next room, unknowingly squashing a duck behind the door.

"Yuffie?" Aerith cried in shock and ran after her friend. Leon, Sora, and I pulled out our weapons.

"Sora, Akira let's go!" He ran up and kicked the Heartless out the window, and then jumped to the ground below. No way can we do that, so we both ran out the door to take the stairs.

The door that Yuffie ran out of slowly opened, reviling a not so good looking duck squashed behind the door. Goofy stood and waited for his companion to recover.

Meanwhile, we found Leon standing outside, smashing a Heartless aside. "Don't bother with the small fry." I stared incredulously at him. Those things destroyed the Islands, and he calls them small fry?

"Find the leader. Let's go!" He said, and ran off. Leaving us to the Heartless. That was nice. Sora threw his Keyblade at the closest heartless. It passed through cleanly and the Heartless evaporated. The Keyblade swung back to him and he caught it, stumbling back.

One of the soldiers spun around, failing its sharp claws everywhere. I blocked, and it came to a halt. I retaliated with a swing to the side of its head and it fell to the ground. Sora thrust the Keyblade into it and it disappeared into darkness.

We dealt with the rest of them that way. They were easier to beat after being dazed with a block. We walked pass a creek leading into a passageway, but it was blocked with bars. I looked past the corner and saw a rather nice looking set of doors.

I motioned Sora over. "Let's go through there, maybe the Heartless like fancy things." And I started to walk forward. "Won't that be breaking and entering?" Sora said, trotting up to me. I pushed open the door. "Not if it's not locked."

He shrugged at that and I held the door open for him. I bowed at him and he walked through, smiling. The house was a nice place. A lot of the rooms had fancy decorations, and pictures of Dalmatian puppies everywhere. It was vacant though, not a sound to be heard.

At least it was for most of the house. Sora opened the fifth door and there were two Dalmatians there. They were sitting down, looking rather depressed.

"Aww, they're so cute!" I squealed and ran over to them. The one with the blue collar looked up at me and whined.

"Please, help us find our puppies." I blinked. Did that dog just talk? I looked over to Sora, he didn't seem to be in shock, maybe he didn't hear her. She _was_ fairly quiet.

I felt sorry for her though, she looked so pitiful. "Ok, we will." I promised. She perked up a bit at that, looking surprised.

I got up Sora looked at me strangely. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

"Find their puppies." I answered simply, pointing at the dogs "Didn't you hear her ask that?"

He slowly shook his head. "Oh." Was all I could say. Maybe I imagined it. I blushed and opened the door leading outside.

A lone solider met us outside the door, and we killed it quickly. Maybe we were walking away from the boss, there didn't seem to be much Heartless in this area.

But when we walked into the main area, hoards of Heartless were waiting for us. Hmm, maybe we aren't walking away from the boss.

It took a while, but we defeated all of them. Being the chosen ones was hard, but then again, it didn't sound too easy to begin with. "Have any idea where to go?" I panted.

"No," Sora answered, "But maybe Leon would tell us." He turned to the large doubled doors. "And maybe we could get some potions too."

He pushed open the doors and they swung shut behind me. Leon was waiting there, maybe for us? I don't know. But he was waiting. He saw the bruises on us and frowned slightly. "The First District is secure. Come back here if you run into trouble."

"Hey Leon, where would the Heartless leader be?" I asked before he could walk away.

He thought for a moment before answering. "My guess would be the Third District. Heartless are always the worst there. No one is allowed to enter."

Before we headed to find the Third District in another entrance (the one in the main square was prohibited from being used) Sora said that we should buy some items. So he took us to Cid's shop. "Hey Cid, do you have any potions we could have?" Sora asked immediately after walking through the door.

"I see you've met before." I said, plopping down on a couch. Sora nodded then turned back to Cid.

"I do have potions you can _buy_." He answered. Sora put a hand in his pockets hand turned them out. No munny. He turned to me with an embarrassed smile.

"All I have is fifteen munny." I answered back sadly.

Sora's face fell and he turned back to Cid, whose face softened at Sora's pout. He rubbed the scruffle on his chin, humming thoughtfully. "I guess I do have a lot of potions, I could lend you some," Sora's face brightened and Cid flicked his toothpick. "But don't go around telling people 'bout this. I don't want them asking for discounts and crap."

We both nodded and he fetched them from the back. "Thanks Cid!" Sora yelled.

"Nice to sorta meet you!" I yelled, running out after Sora.

Cid flicked his toothpick and smirked at the closing doors. "Crazy kids."

***KH***

We wondered about the Second District for quite some time. We even tried to find secret doors, push on bricks to see if they would open. But that didn't work, and all we got were angry Heartless chasing after us.

"Third District, where oh where are you?" I sighed. Then I suddenly remembered before, after being pushed off a roof, there was a door in front of me labeled: Third District. Plus a sign nailed next to it saying Heartless danger do not enter. That sounds about right.

"I know where it is now!" I declared dramatically pointing upward. Sora looked at me slowly. "Where is it then?" I pointed my finger to behind an alley way we didn't notice before. "You know, that would have been nice to know earlier." Sora stated, walking towards the alley.

I fell to the ground, my dramatic moment over. "I forgot!" I whined, and ran after him. The alley way indeed did lead to a door labeled Third District. Sora pushed open the door way and looked around. Seeing nothing he motioned me forward and we walked inside.

It was eerily quiet inside. No noise whatsoever. That usually meant something bad happened, or was going to happen. Like an ambush, or something is going to pop out and scare the crap out of us (like creepy jack-in-the-boxes), or maybe –My thoughts were interrupted as I ran into Sora, who had suddenly stopped.

I heard a loud explosion and looked up to see two figures screaming and flying straight towards us. I bolted, thinking of ambushes and killer jack-in-the-boxes. Sora yelled and tried to run, but they landed on top of him, and they all went crashing to the ground.

I summoned the Heartblade and ran towards them, whoever _they_ were. Which looked to be like a duck and a dog? I stopped running, they didn't look very dangerous. Sora groaned, the duck and dog looked from the Keyblade to the Heartblade. "The keys!" they shouted together.

Sora opened his mouth, probably asking them to get off him or get ready to get a beating, when the ground began to shake. We all looked around, nothing was there though. Suddenly walls erupted out of the ground blocking all the ways in and out of the Third District.

Heartless appeared all around us, the duck and the dog jumped off of Sora, and he stood up, brushing dirt off him. We all stood in fighting stances, back to back. I didn't know about those two, but they looked to be on our side.

The first Heartless jumped off the wall towards the dog; he blocked the attack with his shield and smacked while it was in the air, vaporizing it. The duck pointed what looked to be a wizard wand to the sky; thunder bolts came down from the sky and zapped four soldiers at once.

Two Heartless jumped off the walls towards Sora, he pointed his Keyblade up and one impaled itself on the Keyblade, and the duck sent a fireball towards the second one. Two were spinning on their toes, flailing their claws around. The dog threw his shield at them and they were knocked to the ground.

I jumped and slammed the Heartblade down on them. They vaporized and the darkness swirled towards the sky.

We were panting and had our guards up, the walls weren't going down, and that couldn't be a good sign. We heard a clanking sound in the sky and all looked up at once to see metal parts falling from the sky. They clanked together in place and the thing slammed down to the ground.

It stood for five seconds, and then a head fell from the sky and landed on top. I turned around to look at everybody, and we all gave each other thumbs up. This thing was going down.

We all ran towards it and each took a body part. The duck and dog took the legs, Sora and I took the arms. I jumped up and swung the Keyblade in an ark upward. It didn't even make a dint, even though it looked like it was made of metal. The thing made a groaning noise and pulled back an arm, curled in a fist.

It moved faster than it looked like it could, and would have knocked me into next year if it wasn't blocked by a shield. The dog looked back and smiled at me and I smiled back. The duck cast a fire spell and the thing swung its hand back in forth as in it was in pain.

Sora jumped in a spiral like the solider Heartless would do and hit the things head about three times in a row. It balled both of its hands into fists and jumped up into the air. It came down quite fast and the shock wave knocked all four of us away.

We landed on our backs and skidded into a wall. I groaned and rubbed my head. As my eyes tried to focus, I saw a large purple fist coming at me. I squealed and jumped out of the way just in time to see the fist make a hole twice the size of my head in the wall. I the same things happened to Sora, the duck, and the dog.

Apparently the thing can come apart, I made a mental a note about that. The duck yelled something to the sky and a green flower opened up on all of us. I instantly felt energized and ready for a second round with this thing.

I smacked the hand that tried to crush me and it exploded. I looked back to the Heartless boss; it was missing a leg too. Now that it was weakened, so maybe it would be easier. Of course I was wrong however.

The foot gained a mind of its own and walked towards us, each step making a small shock wave. It knocked over the duck and me and was about to squash the duck when a shield knocked it over on its side. Sora then came over and hit it in the side; it looked vaguely like he was golfing.

The foot hit the wall and exploded into tiny strands of darkness that drifted into the sky. Now it only had one hand left, which it was flailing around trying to smack someone. It made contact with Sora and deep scratch marks were scored across his shoulder.

I threw a potion into the air and said his name, a green flower opened over his head and his scratches faded into scars. We gave each other an air high five. He then ran over and gave the arm a hard smack, it even echoed. It arm exploded like the other body parts.

All that was left was the torso and the head, which the duck and the dog were beating to a metal pulp. Sora and I ran and jumped, holding our blades high. When we came down, we swung them down too. Parallel lines ran down its body and it froze and started to shake.

Suddenly the head slid off its body and landed with a thud on a ground. A glowing heart slowly floated out of the body and into the sky. I watched it fly with wide eyes, something familiar looking about it. What was left of the Heartless slowly faded into light.

The duck and dog explained that they came from their home world looking for two keys that their missing King told them to find in a letter. So they came to Traverse Town then ran into us and you know the rest.

"So, you were looking for us?" Sora asked gesturing to him and me with his thumb. They both nodded their heads.

"They too, have been seeking the two wielders of the legendary blades." A voice said behind us. I jumped and turned around to see Leon and Yuffie standing there. How did they…?

"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel." The dog suggested with a chuckle. Cool, they have a spaceship? I turned to Sora smiling, but the smile faded when I saw his head was hanging down.

"I wonder if we can find Riku and Kairi…" he murmured, turning to me. I frowned, thinking of our lost friends, I wonder where they are right now…

"Of course!" The duck shouted. Sora's head shot up at that. The

dog bent over to whisper to the duck "Are you sure?"

The duck shrugged. "Who knows? But we need them to come with us to help us find the King." I glared at the duck, he wasn't making a very good first impression, and he wasn't very good at whispering either.

"Sora, Akira, go with them." I turned to look at him. "Especially if you want to find your friends."

Sora's head was hanging again. "Yeah, I guess." He didn't sound very enthusiastic about it.

"Come on Sora, cheer up!" I said as I shook his shoulders.

"She's right!" the duck quaked.

"Hmh?"

"You can't come along looking like that. Understand?" He waggled his finger. "No frowning! No sad face, ok? Our ship runs on happy faces!"

I giggled. "That's a funny fuel for a ship to have."

The dog leaned in and laughed. "Yeah, you gotta look funny, like us!" The duck, still smiling, placed a hand on the dogs face and shoved him away.

"Happy?" Sora asked, not sounding happy at all. We all leaned in, waiting for Sora's happy face. He bent down and put his head up. His smile stretched from ear to ear, and his eyes were wide. I burst out in laughter, falling to the floor and clutching my stomach.

His smiled faded as he looked back and forth between the duck and the dog, who were still staring at him. They suddenly exploded into laughter pointing at his face. "That's one funny face!" the dog laughed.

"Yeah, your smile is just beautiful!" I said between the laughter.

He smirked, being the type of person who likes to make people laugh. "Ok, why not? I'll go with you guys."

I stood up and raised my hand. "Count me in too. Hey, who are you guys anyways?"

The duck stretched his hand out. "Donald Duck." He quacked.

The dog put his hand out too. "The name's Goofy."

I put my hand in the middle too. "Nice to meet you, I'm Akira!"

Sora stretched his hand out and we piled them up. "I'm Sora."

"All for one, and one for all!" Goofy smiled.

"So, where's your spaceship at?" I asked.

***KH***

"Those two little squirts took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?"

"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own. But what about the Heartblade?" A man responded with a slight accent.

"Why don't we turn them all into a Heartless?" a woman cackled. "That'll settle things quick enough."

"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys." Said a man with a _thick_ accent.

A sword could be heard being pulled from its sheath. "Swoggle me eyes, they're _all_ bilge rats by the look of them."

"Your no prize yourself." A voice laughed.

"Shut up!" the heavily accented man shouted.

"Enough." A female's voice echoed through the room and everything was quiet. "The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Both way, he could be quite useful… and we have other plans for the girl." A witch in a black cloak gave a sinister smile.


	5. Chapter 5: First World

_HEEELLO PEOPLE THAT ARE READING THIS…no I am not dead. For those of you that actually enjoyed this story so far, I will accept your thrown items at my face with dignity! I. AM. SORRY._

_I don't own Kingdom Hearts unfortunately, only little Akira! All credit for Kingdom Hearts goes to Square Enix and Disney ^^_

__***KH***

I was jumping up and down in excitement, I couldn't help myself. I really wanted to see that spaceship Donald and Goody were talking about. They called it the Gummi Ship if I recall correctly… "Where's the ship? Where's the port?" Sora squealed with excitement.

"Wait a second, Sora." Donald called out. He held up his feathered hands "We'll be going to many places…but you can't tell anyone that were from another world!"

Sora's face was blank. "Why not?"

"We gotta protect the world border!" Goofy smiled as I started at him.

"The world…border?"

"Gah!" Donald cried out in frustration, "The 'order'!"

Leon and the others walked up behind us as Donald 'calmly' tried to explain the pronunciation of the word order. "Hey!" Yuffie greeted us. We turned around and saw Aerith holding out a basket full of potions, elixir, and other helpful items.

"We wanted to make sure you were prepared for the journey ahead of you." Leon explained as Sora accepted the basket. "We don't know how far the Heartless have spread."

"It's from all of us." Aerith smiled, but then raised her hand to cover her mouth as she whispered, "But Leon bought most of it."

We both smiled back. "Aw, thanks Leon!" I grinned and tried to give him a hug, but was flicked in the forehead.

Leon looked at me holding my flicked forehead impassively and turned to Sora. "Look out for each other. Keep your spirits up." Then they turned, waved a goodbye, and left.

I jumped up and Sora started to laugh. "You have a red mark on your forehead." I slowly brought my hand up to rub the mark.

Donald walked over and tugged on my sleeve. "Are you guys ready to leave?" he asked.

"Oh yeah! Gummi Ship!" Sora and I yelled together jumping up and down.

"Let's get going!" Sora yelled, pumping his fist in the air. And with that, we ran and pushed open the ginormous doors to exit Traverse Town.

Yuffie leaned again the wall to Cid's shop, watching us leave. "Do you think we should have told her the other line to the legend?" she asked to Leon, who just walked out of the shop.

"She didn't believe us anyways, I could tell. And her knowing that won't help them at all in their journey." Yuffie nodded, but still seemed concerned. "She'll figure it out eventually." He said, turning and heading back to his house.

***KH***

Sora and I had our jaws dropped to the floor. The Gummi Ship obviously had magic used on it, because the inside was impossibly larger than the outside. There was a large hallway directly in front of us, a door to the right was cracked and a delicious smell was wafting out, and to the left was a giant hang out room.

"This ship is awesome!" I yelled and ran to the nearest door in the hallway and yanked it open. The room had a large, very comfy looking bed, a large window, its own bathroom, dressers and drawers already filled with clothes, and everything else you could possibly need. I rummaged through for a second, then ran back out to the main room.

It had a large TV mounted on the wall, with four couches and a coffee table in the middle of the room. To the right was an opening to the kitchen. Robotic hands were there, already cooking and doing dishes.

There was a ladder that leaned against the far side of the wall. It looked like it led to some square opening. Taped beside the ladder were the words 'Cock Pit' with an arrow pointing up. I walked up the ladder and almost got to the opening when a broom came down and smacked me in the face. I yelped and fell on the floor, holding my smacked nose.

"That's enough!" a small squeaky voice shouted. I heard Sora groan and looked over to see him rubbing a rather red nose; obviously he has received the same treatment. "Will you stop touching everything you see?" the voice yelled again.

Sora looked around, but no one was there. "Down here!" I cocked my head down to see two chipmunks, one with a broom, obviously the culprit, and the other with a rag wiping the floor. "We're trying to keep this place clean! Don't make a mess, okay?" It wagged its tail furiously.

"Oh, sorry." Sora rubbed the back of his neck. I held out my hand and the one with the broom hopped on. Sora held his hand for the other chipmunk.

"Those are Chip and Dale." Donald explained.

The chipmunk in my hand waved his paw furiously. "Hey! Don't call us 'those'!"

Donald raised his hand in apology "They're the mechanics of the Gummi Ship."

The chipmunk in Sora's hand bowed. "Nice to meet you!" They saluted and then jumped off our hands to climb up the ladder. Donald and Goofy climbed up after them with Sora close behind. After checking for flying broom sticks, I climbed through the opening.

Inside there was a giant clear bubble around us that allowed an all-around view. There were enough seats for all of us, one in front of the wheel, and another beside that. I assumed to help push all the buttons and switches. The other two were beside the walls. I sat in the one close to the left wall and spun around in circles.

"This…ship…is…awesome!" I shouted between the spins. Donald sat in front of the wheel and looked back with a grin.

"Everybody ready? Fasten your seat belts!" I pulled the seat belt over my stomach and buckled it in, squirming all the while. Sora took the other seat beside the window and Goofy sat in the seat beside Donald.

We all gave the thumbs up sign and Donald shouted, "Take the engine to full throttle!"

"Aye-aye, sir!" Chip and Dale ran off and jumped onto the front of the ship pulling a lever. "Blast off!" The ship fired off into space.

The force of blastoff pushed my back into my seat. I squeezed my eyes shut and grasped the arms of my chair tightly. There was a bright light and then the sickening feeling stopped. "Sora Akira, come take a look outside!" I slowly opened my eyes and looked out the glass bubble.

I gasped at what I saw. In the inky black space were amazing bursts of swirling colors. A rainbow for every galaxy. The stars looked even brighter when you're in outer space, sparkling everywhere and forming intricate designs and patterns.

"Whoa…" I could tell Sora was amazed also. _If only Kairi and Riku were here…_

Goofy and Donald looked at each other and smiled."Alright, it'll only take about thirty minutes to get to the first world since its right by Traverse Town." Donald explained, pushing a button I guess was auto-drive. "It's time to explain the Gummi ship rules!"

Sora groaned and leaned his head back. "There's rules?"

Goofy chuckled, "Sorta. Mostly just explainin' what goes on around here."

Donald nodded and jumped out of his seat, standing in an erect position. "Rule number one!" he shouted, "Nobody is allowed in the cockpit without the captain (he pointed a feathered hand at himself)! You could get us all killed." I stifled a laugh as he turned and started marching around in a ridiculous fashion.

"Rule number two, never press this button!" He gestured to a giant red button labeled 'do not push!'

"Oh come on! The classical don't push? That just makes you want to push it!" I cried. Donald glared at me.

"Do. Not. Push."

I sunk down into my chair to avoid the glare of doom.

"Rule number three," Donald continued "Don't fire the guns unless there's a Heartless ship in sight!" He walked around and pointed to the handles by the two windows. When I peered outside I saw a tip of the gun attached to the ship.

Donald continued on as I drifted into my own thoughts. We finally got what we wished for I supposed; traveling to new worlds and leaving our tiny one behind. But now I wished I had more time to spend on Destiny Islands, as I might not see it ever again. My heart twisted in a painful knot.

I think we got to rule seventeen or something, when a bell rang out. "We're at the new world!" Goofy smiled happily. I sat up and pressed my face to the window. There was a checkered world with a castle sitting on top of it in front of the Gummi Ship.

Sora jumped up grabbed my arms, shaking me around. "I'm so excited!" he squealed and started running for the hatch that lead to the outside. I followed slowly, my vision swimming from being shaken so hard. Sora stretched out his hand to open it, but Donald slapped it back.

"Hey, don't jump out so hastily!" he quaked. Goofy walked over and opened up the door slowly. "Here we can apply rule number eighteen! Survey your surroundings before exiting the Gummi ship." He peered cautiously out with Goofy peeping the other direction. "Look left and right…" I laughed at their serious expressions, but my laughter fell short as I looked where they were about to step.

I tugged Sora's sleeve and pointed down. His eyes widened "Careful!" He shouted and grabbed Goofy's arm. They didn't get the message though and took the step anyways.

"Yep, that's right. You have to be careful." They were somehow floating in midair, I gaped at them. How did they not realize there's nothing below their feet…?

"You guys look down!"

"Down?" They both looked down into the abyss below.

"Garsh!" Goofy gasped.

Of course at that moment gravity finally kicked in and they fell yowling down. Sora was still holding Goofy's sleeve, which caused him to fall. I tried to grab onto the back of his shirt but of course that made me fall as well.

We all landed in a heap on the checkered floor, thankfully not gravely injured. I groaned and opened my eyes to meet a startling blue. I blinked as I realized I had landed on top of Sora. "Thanks Sora, you made a good pillow." I said cheerily.

"No problem…" he choked out. I leaped off and helped him up, which he repaid me for by promptly smacking me on the back of my head.

Goofy got up and brushed himself off while Donald rolled his eyes at us. "Ok you two get over here and follow us! We can now talk about rule nineteen!" I scowled at him while Donald blabbered, oblivious to Sora mimicking tone behind him, about how you always stay together in unfamiliar territory.

We walked along a weird corridor with flat furniture and checkered wallpaper when a cry of panic made us freeze in our tracks. A white rabbit, oblivious to our stares, ran past at top speed. "Oh my fur and whiskers!" he shouted. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" He checked his giant pocket watched and let out a rabbit squeal.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there!" He ran zigzagged down the hallway, our heads moving to follow all his movements. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!" He ran smack dab into a door, shook his head, slowly opened it then ran into the smaller door behind it. It happened once more, each of us wincing as the smack resounded through the hallway, then the smallest door opened into a passage way and he bolted through.

I broke the silence by saying "Well that was weird." The guys nodded their heads in agreement.

"The queen sounds like a charming person." Sora added. We walked through the tiny passage way and looked around a small room. Sora gave a cry of surprise and I looked down to see the rabbit had shrunk to the size of a mouse.

He scuttled to a mouse sized door at the other end of the room, which opened and let him in. Thankfully there wasn't a door behind that and he got through unscathed. I walked over to the door and knelt to examine it. "Hey this doorknob looks like a face!" I laughed.

They all walked over and closely looked at the doorknob. "Yeah it does." Sora snickered.

"I wonder how that rabbit got so small?" Goofy wondered.

"No you're simply too big!" A voice suddenly exclaimed. We jumped in surprise and turned to the yawning doorknob.

"It talks!" Donald squawked. Sora quirked his eyebrow and leaned in, poking the door. The doorknob glared at Sora.

"Must you be so loud? You woke me up." He grumbled.

Goofy waved at him "Good morning!"

"Good night! I need a bit more sleep."The doorknob grumpily replied. He started drifting off, yawning widely.

"Wait!" Sora cried out, "What do we have to do to grow so small?"

"Why don't you try that bottle...over there?" We looked back to where the doorknob pointed out and saw the flat table with two dots representing two bottles. With a sudden poof of smoke the table and chairs rose out of the ground. I picked up one of the bottles and Sora examined the other.

"It says drink me..." I mumbled and looked over to see Sora gulping the blue potion down.

"Wait!" Donald cried out and moved to take the bottle, but a poof of smoke surrounded us. I coughed and waved my hand in attempt to clear it away. When it finally did clear something seemed...off.

We were now only a few inches tall. "Wow!" I turned in a circle to look at the now enormous table looming over us. "We're so small!"

"The outside world is so mysterious!" Sora cried running around and waving his arms.

Goofy was laughing but Donald scowled. "Were you two not listening? Rule fourteen specifically states not to touch items until you know they're intent!"

Sora pursed his lips. "Well its intent seemed to help us so there!" He said in a mocking tone.

Donald scowled again while Goofy and I exchanged a smile. Sora walked over to the door, flopping his feet outward like a duck to further annoy Donald. "Hey we're small now so let us through!" but the doorknob continued to snore on.

"Now how are we gonna get through?" I asked. Sora shrugged and looked around the room.

Donald and Goofy called us over to where a large bed was pushed against the wall. "There's a hole in the wall over here we can crawl through!"

I peered under and saw a dark tunnel I couldn't see the other side to. But seeing as we had no choice I ducked and crawled through the hole. "Oh brother…" I heard Sora mutter behind me. Thankfully there were no giant spiders inside and the tunnel begin to lighten the further we crawled.

We emerged into a garden with rose bushes forming fences around the room. I looked up and was confused to see a ceiling painted to look like the sky instead of the calming blue I was expecting. I heard Sora murmur in surprise and looked into the center of the room and saw a small court room in which a trial was being held.

A small blonde girl in a blue dress was standing behind a large podium, nervously clutching at the hem of the dress. Fairly large playing cards seemed to be standing guard for a very large woman with a small crown atop her head. The white rabbit we saw earlier bolted up a short flight of wooden stairs to stand at the top of a platform.

Instead of a pocket watch he now held a trumpet, which he blew into when he reached the top. Panting and out of breath he yelled in a ragged voice, "Court is now in session!"

The young girl looked at the rabbit in shock. "I'm on trial? But why?"

The rabbit either didn't hear or ignored her as he continued in a scratchy voice, "Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" he bowed low, his rabbit ears brushing his toes.

The large woman opened her eyes and glared down at the small girl. The girl shrunk back, uncomfortable with the stare. The queen slammed her hands down and said in a rather deep voice "This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it. And the reason is…" she took a breath and yelled "Because I said so that's why!" I winced at the loud voice.

"That is so unfair!" the girl cried.

The queen just stared back at her. "Well do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong!" She crossed her arms and glared. "You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so…so mean!"

The rabbit gasped and covered his mouth looking like he was going to have a panic attack. "Something tells me that was the wrong thing to say…" I muttered. Sora nodded, transfixed by the scene in front of him.

The queen's face turned red "Silence!" she screamed. The girl's hair flew back and the scream wave made us trip backwards. I held my head, dazed by the ringing noise echoing in my ears.

"You dare defy me?" She slammed her giant fists down again and giving a glare of death. "Hey, guys we should help her out." Sora said. "Yeah, but the-" Donald started. "Wouldn't we be-" I interrupted. "We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling?" Goofy finished. "Meddling!" Donald corrected. "Oh yeah." Goofy laughed. "And that's against the rules."

Sora was being oddly silent so I snuck a glance at him. His head was cocked and he was staring at the court slightly squinting his eyes, a tell-tale sign he was making a plan. "Sora..." I said in a warning voice.

"The court finds the defendant…" the queen paused for dramatic effect, "Guilty as charged!" The girl covered her mouth in shock. "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart…"

Sora gasped and took a step forward. "Heartless." I muttered.

"Off with her head!" the queen screamed, a vein bulging in her neck. The card soldiers started towards the girl.

"No! No! Oh, please!" the girl cried. It was the last straw for Sora, who stepped ran forward

"Hold it right there!"

Donald slapped his forehead and let out an irritated growl. "Oh no."

We all ran into the clearing, the soldiers moved to make a path for us. "Who are you?" the queen demanded, standing up. How dare you interfere with my court?"

Goofy, Donald and I flinched back, but Sora moved up a couple steps. "Excuse me. But we know who the real culprit is!"

"Uh-huh. It's the Heartle-" Donald gave him a look and Goofy slapped his hand over his mouth.

"Anyway…" Sora said, hoping the queen wouldn't ask Goofy to finish that sentence. "She's not the one you're looking for."

The queen tapped her fingers against the wood. "That's nonsense. Have you any proof?" she smirked, confident he wouldn't.

"Uhhh…"

And so Alice was thrown into what looked like a bird cage. "Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence, or it's off with all your heads!" the queen screamed and plopped down into her chair. "Until then court is adjourned!"

I protectively clutched my head. "Sora you better get her some freaking evidence." He waved his hand noting that he heard me, and then walked over to the bird cage that was now being hoisted in the air. "We'll find the true criminal don't you worry!" He reassured the girl in the cage.

"But where can we find evidence?" Donald's worried voice asked. He really didn't want to lose his handsome feathered head.

"The Cheshire Cat I met in the woods may know something." The girl called down. "But be careful-" her warning was cut short when a card pulled a lever, covering the cage with velvet certain.

"You may not speak with the defendant!" The card said in a stern all turned away, casting regretful glances over our shoulders at the cage.

"Sorry for rushing into that without thinking. I probably just got us all killed." Sora laughed nervously.

"Don't apologize for who you are Sora." I stated kindly.

"…Hey!" he feigned hurt while I laughed. Sora did this all the time back at the island. It started with the cocking of the head, then the facial expression and slightly squinted eyes, after which comes the horrible idea which we all followed anyways, and then the punishment that was always at the end.

"Well I guess we gotta go into that forest." Goofy said which a good of a start as any. So we walked through a rectangular hole conveniently placed in the hedge.

The pathway led to a forest were everything was enormously huge. "I feel like I shrunk…again." I added remembering that we already had shrunk to enter the doorway. A giant log cut in half was right beside the entryway. What looked like lily pads were randomly placed some flattened to the ground. The biggest tree I've ever seen was in the middle of the forest, rising above everything else.

I looked around in awe at the scenery, trying to take it all in, when I came face to face with a floating cat head. The cat gave an impossibly huge smile and I let out a high pitched squeal and jumped back. It disappeared then reappeared on the log a few feet away.

"Who are you?" Donald shouted waving his wand in the air.

"Who indeed?" the cat replied. We all gave him a quizzical look. "Poor Alice…" the cat swished his tail. "Soon to lose her head and she's not guilty of a thing!"

"You saw the trial?" I scrunched up my face trying to remember if I saw him.

Sora pointed at the cat "Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us!"

"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers-but he doesn't always tell." He smiled down at us. "The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness."

"Are you a Heartless?" I got ready to summon the Heartblade. The Cheshire Cat turned his eyes onto me and smiled wider if that was even possible.

"You should know pure heart." And with that he disappeared.

"Wait!" Sora cried out but the cat was already gone. We all hung our heads in disappointment then jumped as the cats voice appeared again.

"They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit." I looked around for the cat but he was nowhere in sight. "There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find."

"And the fourth…?" Sora's sentence dropped off, it looked like he didn't like talking to air.

"The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all."

Goofy chuckled "Oh boy a reward!"

"Seemed like a Heartless to me." Donald grumbled.

"Should we trust him?" We all stood in silence until the Cheshire cat suddenly reappeared in front of us.

I squealed again as we all jumped back. "To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!" And with that he faded away, hopefully for good this time.

Sora gave me a '_what the heck just happened'_ look. "Well…it's the only clue we have to finding the culprit so I say trust." Sora nodded, Donald muttered under his breath, and Goofy let his head shake in agreement.

"Well…where should we start looking for the evidence?" Sora asked. We looked around till all our eyes landed on the giant flower. I walked over to it and stared for a second. Sora walked over and joined me in the staring. "It doesn't look very suspicious." He stated. Then the flower turned towards us.

"Give me a potion and I'll make you bigger." Then it turned back slowly to its original position.

We both took a giant step back.

Goofy laughed and Donald sighed then threw a potion on the flower. It spread its petals and a bright light surrounded us. When the light faded we were back to normal size, which made the room a LOT smaller. "Hm…maybe this won't be as easy as we thought." I sweat dropped as Sora smacked his head on the fake ceiling.

***KH***

A lot of skirmishes with Heartless, hitting heads in rooms too small for us, and falling through random doors and landing in even more random places, we finally found the four pieces of evidence. I checked them over again as we walked back to the Queen of Hearts.

"Okay we have claw marks, footprints, an antenna, and ew…Heartless stench." I gagged as the scent of Heartless filled my nose. "Smells like death and hopelessness." Goofy clamped a hand over his nose and Sora wrinkled his.

Donald narrowed his eyes and raised his arm, a triumphant expression on his face, "Now we know for sure it was a Heartless, and soon that queen will too!"

We walked into the court room and one of the card shoulders approached us. "Are you ready to present evidence before the queen?" it asked. We all nodded and the card told us to step up to the podium. Sora walked up to the podium in front of the queen while Donald, Goofy, and I walked to the side podium.

The queen glanced down at Sora. "Now, show me what you have found." She said in a bored voice, obviously showing she had no confidence our evidence was going to change anything. Sora set our boxes of evidence down in front of the card soldiers and stepped back.

"Cards! Bring forth my evidence!" the queen yelled. They brought forth their own box and set it down. They then switched up the boxes quickly so we lost sight of our evidence. "Hmmm, checking all five would only be a waste of time." The queen tapped her fingers and stared down at the boxes.

She smoothed out her dress and returned her gaze to Sora. "All right then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence."

"Hey!" I shouted in indignation. "That's not fair we worked hard to look for that evidence for you!"

The queen turned her head towards me. "Shut up, small stupid girl!" I shrunk back behind the podium, keeping my glare on the queen.

"After all that trouble of collecting it..." Sora muttered with narrowed eyes. The queen, unfortunately, heard his whispered remark.

"You dare object? Then you will lose your head! Now choose. One box!" she screamed at Sora and I could see his hair fly back from the power of her voice.

Eyes watering, Sora jumped over the podium and pointed to the fourth box. "Are you certain? No second chances!" the queen growled. He nodded his head. "Now we shall she who the real culprit is…"

Everyone held their breath as a card shoulder lifted the top off the box Sora pointed to. After a few seconds nothing happened then an image of Goofy shimmered for a second before disappearing. I slapped my forehead; out of those four boxes we had the one with the queen's "evidence"! Goofy gasped in shock as bars came out of the ground and trapped him where he stood.

"What! So you're the culprits!" the queen shouted in anger.

"Wait! This can't be right!" Sora glared at the queen.

"I object! That isn't even evidence!" I cried out.

"Sora! Do something!" Donald flapped his wings and jumped up and down.

"We have no choice! Let's take 'em!" Sora summoned the Keyblade and took a fighting stance as Donald and I drew our weapons and jumped down from the podium. Suddenly all the podiums disappeared in a flash of smoke and a tower appeared in the middle of the room. A card solider ran up and spun a wheel on the side of the tower, which caused the cage Alice was in to be hoisted up to the top of the room's ceiling.

The queen pointed her scepter and the cards marched into a stance then jumped. "Cards! If they touch the tower you lose your heads!" the queen yelled.

"Thanks for the tip!" I smiled and begin unleashing my fury on the tower with the Heartblade. Sora followed and attacked the other side, while Donald kept the cards at bay with his spells.

As the tower started to slowly come apart the queen let lose a bunch of profanities, which became louder with each swing we took. "Would you be quiet already?" I cried out in frustration then ran over to her raised podium, kicked her down and jumped off as she flopped on the floor. Her dress then fell down her reveal a very embarrassing pair of bloomers as she screeched for the cards to help her up.

Sora snorted in laughter then gave a final blow to the tower which sent it crumbling to the ground. Alice's cage was lowered to the ground. All the fighting paused, and the queen struggled to her feet to peer over at the cage. Sora ran over quickly as the curtain was pushed back revealing…nothing.

We all started in shock at the empty cage, which was still locked. "She must've gotten kidnapped while we were fighting." Donald said.

"And then they relocked the cage and left without any of us seeing?" I gave him a look which he returned with a glare.

The queen slammed her hands down furiously. "You fools! Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!" The card soldiers saluted then scrambled off in search of Alice.

Donald blew a hole in Goofy's cage and he climbed out. He thanked Donald then looked at the empty cage "What now?"

We all shrugged, than mutually decided to look for Alice. "If somebody did kidnap her, which I highly doubt they did," I added "then they probably didn't get very far."

"Let's go to the room with the magic potions." Sora suggested.

We started to walk off when I stopped, remembering something suddenly, snapping my fingers. "The Cheshire Cat!" The boys stopped and looked back, giving me look like I was crazy. "He said he had all the answers, why don't we go into the forest and ask him what happened to Alice?"

Donald gave me a skeptical look "You actually believed that crazy cat?" Goofy pondered my choice with fingers on his chin and Sora was nodding his head.

"Well why not? We have nothing to lose, and no lead on where Alice might be." I said.

"Whatever, we're not getting any further with the crazy cat." Donald muttered.

As we walked back into the forest, everything was silent, except for the occasional bird chatter. Sora walked forward a few steps, than leaped back wildly as a giant boulder flew past him. It landed by the fake pond and the Cheshire Cat materialized on top of it, preforming a handstand and giving a wide smile.

"Have you seen Alice?" I chirped curiously. He turned his head, making it look like he was thinking.

"Alice no. Shadows, yes!"

"Must've been the Heartless that took her!" Goofy declared.

"Where did they go?" Sora asked.

The cat shrugged using his feet "This way? That way? Does it matter?" He started to laugh "Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows!"

Goofy and I blinked then looked in all the directions he mentioned, everything seemed fine to us. Donald groaned and pinched the top of his beak in irritation. The Cheshire Cat gave us a passing glance then looked into the forest. "Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside-down room!" And with that he disappeared.

"Upside-down room…?" Sora had a confused look on his face.

Goofy appeared to be deep thought and Donald was tapping his chin, one eye closed "I thought Heartless only attacked on the spot."

"I'm not sure…" Donald muttered. "But something may be controlling the Heartless. Something really evil." I frowned deeply as we set off to find a lead on Alice's disappearance.

***KH***

After solving the puzzle to get past the tree, Sora once again hitting his head on the tree, and then the tree hitting itself on Sora, we finally found the room.

I cried out in shock seeing that we were sticking to the wall staring down at the floor far below. Thinking gravity might kick in at any moment I scrambled for a hold, my fear of heights kicking in. But after about a minute the shock wore off and we all took a step forward, mine a tad bit slower than the others.

Sora turned back and flashed me a smile. "This world is so cool!" A few Heartless appeared out of the shadows and started towards us as Sora summoned the Keyblade and ran to meet them. I squeaked as he jumped to avoid an attack, thinking he would plummet to his doom but he landed back down. This world was messing with my mind. I shook my head and joined in the battle.

After the Heartless were done with, Donald looked around as Goofy scratched his chin. "…What exactly are we looking for?" Goofy asked.

"The shadows…?" Sora suggested.

"Gee that's helpful." Donald crossed his feathered arms over his chest.

"Well this area is in shadows maybe over here…" I stepped forward then screamed as the floor opened up beneath me. Goofy grabbed the back of my shirt, Donald grabbed Goofy's foot, and Sora attempted to pull Donald back to hoist us all up but we all fell anyways.

We all landed back in the forest in a heap on the floor. "Maybe…we should look for the garden first." I choked out. The boys groaned in agreement so we hoisted ourselves off the floor and walked to the deserted garden.

The garden had a long pick table with assorted dishes on it. Random chairs surrounded the table and a giant picture with a crying man and distraught rabbit on it hung over the whole scene. "Well it seemed like a nice place till I saw the creepy picture." I pointed out.

"Look there's a note beside the picture." Sora walked over and peered at the note. "A very merry unbirthday." He read out.

"Unbirthday…?" I blinked in confusion. Sora shrugged and continued reading.

"Sit down to get your present."

"Sounds suspicious." Donald frowned.

"Everything sounds suspicious to you!" Sora scoffed and sat down in a chair. We all followed suit and sat in our own separate chairs. Nothing happened for a few moments and we sat with our hands folded in our laps.

Then a bright light popped above our heads showering confetti as the chairs sent us flying back from the table. With a sound of trumpets playing, a flying box appeared out of nowhere and hit Sora in the head.

He held his head and picked up the box revealing an elixir inside. "Nice present!" I shouted rubbing my rear.

He pocketed the elixir and glared at the table. "A very merry unbirthday to you stupid table!" he shouted. Then another box flew at his face and sent him falling back holding his head.

I bent down and picked up the box then read the note inside. "It says…you suck." Sora stomped to the building beside the table while Donald, Goofy, and I took our time to laugh at him and his new table enemy.

When we walked through the door a striped tail dropped over the edge and tickled my nose. I swiped the tail away laughing and we looked up into the smiling face of the Cheshire Cat.

"They're hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe." I gave him a blank stare. "Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the light." With his latest riddle being said, he disappeared.

"Turn on the light?" Sora cocked his head in confusion. "Wouldn't that chase the shadows away?"

"Not necessarily." I tapped my chin in thought. "Light also creates shadows." Turning, I pointed to the lights in the center of the room. "How about turning those lights on?"

Donald raised his staff in the air "Fire!" A flaming ball flew toward the light and lit the wick inside the lamp.

The Cheshire Cat appeared by another lamp. "It's too dim. Make it brighter." He gestured to the lamp behind him "One more lamp that you need to light." Donald shot another fire ball and the lamp was lit. "All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon." He tilted his head up, or down in the case of the upside-down room. We followed his gaze, but the drop made my stomach clench so I looked away.

"They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else." He smiled "The shadows might go after that doorknob, too." And with a laugh he vanished.

"Okay, _now_ we go back to the room with the potions!" Sora declared and ran off towards the room.

Not remembering which way that was exactly, we turned and unlocked a hatch, revealing a door leading down to a garden below. We dropped into the queen's courtroom and landed on the bushes before a treasure chest. "Oh cool I wonder-" I broke off as a heard the sounds of yapping coming from inside the chest.

Sora cautiously bent down and unlocked the chest, then immediately got tackled by tiny Dalmatian puppies. He laughed as they licked his face and I kneeled to pet one behind the ear. "Dude who puts puppies in a treasure chest?" Donald sent them home to Traverse Town and we continued onto the room.

We crawled back through the crack in the wall, emerging in the room with the sleeping doorknob. I peered up at the table and saw the Cheshire Cat waving down at us. "You'll have a better view from higher up." He motioned for us to get on the table. We climbed up using the chair and stood beside the cat.

He got on his hind legs and began to dance on his toes. "The shadows should be here soon." He leaned back on his tail "Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!" He pointed up and a giant Heartless suddenly dropped down from the ceiling. We all jumped back as it began to slowly unfold its giant arms, revealing that it had juggling items that suddenly burst into flames.

"You tricked us!" Sora shouted at the cat.

"Told you!" Donald growled, pointing his wand at the Heartless.

"Tricked you? Nothing of the sort!" He propped his head on a paw "The Cheshire Cat is always here to help the weak!"

"Oh goodie he called us weak…" I summoned the Heartblade and leaped at the Heartless swinging down at its head. It suddenly jumped high into the air and came down with a crashing boom, turning to blow a huge arch a fire at us.

I glanced down to see my pants were on fire, as were the boy's as they were running around yelling in terror. Donald unfortunately had no pants, so his actual tail was burning.

The Cheshire Cat narrowed his eyes in amusement. "All right now…you'll never make it like that." The cat pointed his paw at Sora. "I'll give you something you're missing."

A sudden coldness surrounded me and seeped into my skin offering relief from the intense heat. Small snowflakes were floating around the Heartblade. "Of course whatever happens to the Keyblade also happens to the Heartblade, they are connected." The cat smiled.

Donald ran past Sora yowling in pain. "Hot! Hot!"

Sora's eyes widened "Donald!" suddenly the Keyblade lurched forward and from the tip emerged a blizzard, putting out Donald's tail fire immediately.

"Sora!" Donald cried out in surprise "Did you just do that?"

Sora looked at his Keyblade in surprise. The Cheshire Cat crossed his arm behind his head "The wielders of the Keyblade and Heartblade…should be able to use a little magic, right?"

"Ma—This is magic?" I spluttered.

"Sora, Akira here it comes!" Donald yelled. The Heartless was spinning towards us and it was completely on fire.

I yelped in shock and pointed the Heartblade at it while shouting blizzard. The Heartless' fire simply burned through the magic. "The magic isn't working!" I shouted in frustration.

The Heartless lifted a giant foot and brought it down hard on the floor sending out a shock wave that knocked us back. Donald lifted his wand "Cure!" A green light surrounded us and I felt the soreness in my muscles fading away.

Goofy blocked a fireball coming our way with his shield. "You hafta work together!" He said.

"Concentrate!" Donald squawked stamping his foot. "Accumulate power at the tip of the blade! Imagine the enemy freezing!" Sora and I both pointed our raised blades at the Heartless, who had begun its flaming juggling act again. "Concentrate in your mind!"

Sora looked at me and gave a determined nod before closing his eyes. The Heartless raised a foot to slam down when we both shouted "Freeze!" A whirlwind of cold wind and heavy snow shot forward and surrounded the Heartless, completely covering it in a thick sheet of ice. It attempted to make a last attack but it was slowed rapidly until it stood still.

The room went quiet with shock, I looked towards the table the Cheshire Cat was on and saw he was surprised as well. Sora jumped up and spun, slamming the Keyblade into the Heartless. A crack appeared in its center as it began to tip backwards slowly until its weight made it smash onto the ground with a loud shattering noise. Just like with the Heartless at Traverse Town, a heart floated up from its center, lazily winding upward until it disappeared.

Donald and Goofy ran over and hugged us "You did it!" They cried out. We jumped around in happiness until a loud yawn stopped us in our tracks.

"What is it? What's going on?" The doorknob grumbled "Such a racket. How's a doorknob to get any sleep?"

It yawned, its mouth stretched wide open and a glimmer shinned out in the shape of a keyhole. I turned to point it out to Sora, only to see he already noticed and was giving it a critical look.

Suddenly the Heartblade started glowing and a bright light appeared at the tip of Sora's Keyblade. He gave a shout of surprise as the Keyblade jerked up and shot a beam of light into the keyhole.

A loud clicking sound was made, like a key turning in a lock, and the glowing faded. "What…was that?" I asked, holding up the Heartblade to examine it.

"It sounded like something closed with a _click_." Donald pointed out. The keyhole spat something out, and a small object landed at Goofy's feet. He picked it up and looked at it closely before smiling widely. "Hey, it's a gummi block!" He brought it up to his eye and squinted. "But this gummi ain't like others, no sir!"

Goofy handed it to Donald who nodded his head "You're right. I've never seen this kind of gummi block before." Donald handed it to Sora and he looked at it with a raised brow.

"Gummi block?" Sora tossed it to me and I pinched it between my forefinger and thumb. It was kind of squishy and had a rubber feel to it.

"They're used as components for our Gummi Ship." I gave it back to Goofy, who placed it in his pocket.

We heard laughter coming from above and turned our heads to the table. The Cheshire Cat had a broad smile on. "Splendid! You both are quite the heroes!" He spread his arms wide, "Really quite excellent! Your power has blossomed! I can't wait to see what you do next!"

Sora remained silent throughout the praise. "Cheshire Cat…who are you?"

The cat narrowed his eyes and gave a sly smile "If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. My friends, I'm afraid she's gone!" We descended into a shocked silence. "Gone with the shadows…into the darkness!"

***KH***

"That darn cat…It needs to keep its big mouth shut!" a man shouted. "We should have finished him off when he turned down our offer."

"Too late for that." another added, "Even if we let him live, he can't do us much harm."

The man with the accent stamped a staff into the ground. "But the boy is a problem. He found one of the keyholes." When nobody said anything he continued, "And their connection is getting stronger. We need to take care of this right away-"

"There's no need to rush." A cold voice echoed through the room and the man fell silent. "It will take him ages to find the others. Besides…" She trailed off and turned to a corner of the room where a dim light shinned down on a small blonde girl in a blue dress.

"The pieces are all falling in our favor."


	6. Chapter 6: Olympus Coliseum

_All Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and all Disney characters belong to Disney of course! I only own little Akira~_

***KH***

I yawned and lay back in my bed. Crossing my arms behind my head and staring up at the ceiling I thought about everything that had happened to me and Sora in only…what one day?

I slid my feet down to the floor and pushed myself out of the covers. Donald had said it would take at least seven hours to get to the next world so we had all went to our separate rooms for a rest. I could tell everyone else was sleeping by the lack of loud voices.

Surely no one would mind me walking around for a bit then, I couldn't sleep. I quietly shut my door behind me and walked out into the dark hallway towards the cockpit, using the soft light of the stars to help me see. Donald had said not to go up there without him, but I wasn't going to touch anything just a quick look at the night to clear my head.

I peered around the ladder leading up to the cockpit cautiously, making sure Donald didn't tell Chip and Dale to install a broom trap or anything, before climbing up. When I reached the top, I jumped in surprise to see that somebody else was already in one of the seats by the window, but relaxed when I saw the familiar outline of spiky brown hair. "You know Donald's going to kill you when he finds out you've been up here without him."

Sora turned towards me with a smile. "Who says he's going to find out?"

I walked over to stand beside him. "You couldn't sleep either?"

He shook his head and looked out the window for a moment before speaking again "Maybe this is all a dream…"

I sighed and muttered my agreement.

"Why did the blades choose us? We're only a couple of kids." Sora lifted his hand and the Keyblade appeared in it with a flash of light. "I didn't even know I had any of that in me." He smiled slightly "Sure I was pretty awesome with a sword already, but this is different."

I remained silent as he continued, lost in thought. "It's like the Keyblade is giving me this fighting instinct. When I summon it I know all these things; I've already been through years of training."

He dismissed the Keyblade and turned to look at me "I can't decide whether we're the luckiest people in the universe or the ones with the worst destiny possible."

The words made the wheels in my head turn and I started to think. I thought of our lost home and friends, then of the new ones we made, the exciting proposal of the worlds we would visit, and the adventures we would have. "It's half and half." I said.

He nodded his head and stood up "Alright I can agree with that." I looked in his eyes and saw a flash of the sorrow he felt for everything he lost, and then it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

Frowning, I hugged him tightly "At least we have each other…"

I felt him tense up in surprise but then he slowly put his arms around me. "Yeah at least we have that."

***KH***

I was woken by the sound of the Gummi ship alerting us we were at the next world. An intercom buzzed into my room and Donald told me to get up and get ready, and that food was being made if I was hungry. I didn't know if the prospect of having the intercom throughout the whole ship was annoying or helpful.

I changed into my clothes, making sure to put plenty of potions in the pouch I wore around my waist. I didn't know what this world would be like hopefully not as confusing as Wonderland. Then I ran out of the room to join the guys.

As soon as we had all eaten our fill and gathered in the cockpit, Chip and Dale beamed us down to the next world. When the light from the beams faded I gasped in surprise. A giant building was in front of us with arching pillars and huge bronze statues of gladiators crossing their swords over the entrance. Sora walked over to one of the square shaped holes that ran along the walls leading to the building and peered out of it.

"Whoa! You guys we're in the sky!" I ran over and looked down too and saw nothing but blue stretch endlessly out, the white clouds blocking my view of the ground. Donald and Goofy called us over to the gate between the pillars and we pushed it open together.

Inside was a small room with trophies lining the sides of the walls. Almost all of them had "Hercules" engraved in them. Beside a roped off area was a small man organizing letters on a sign. My eyes widened when I saw his bottom half was goat legs and a tail.

We walked over slowly and waited for him to finish and turn around. Donald impatiently started tapping his foot when the goat man didn't notice we were there. Sora reached his hand out to poke his shoulder when, without turning around, he spoke in a gruff voice. "Good timing. Give me a hand will ya?"

We looked around to see if he was talking to someone else, but seeing no one, returned our gazes to the small man. He pointed to the right and our heads followed his finger. "Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games." He drawled out the last word.

Sora walked over and placed his hands on the stone pedestal then pushed against it "It weighs a ton!" He grunted out. After several seconds of nothing happening Donald crossed his arms over his chest while Goofy tried to cover his laughter.

"Um…Sora I don't think this is working."

He ignored me and continued to push all his weight against the stone, his face turning red with the effort. Finally he stopped pushing and yelled in frustration. "It's way too heavy!"

The goat man bristled in shock "What! Too heavy?!" He turned around, a mocking tone in his voice "Since when have you been such a little-" He stopped and tilted his head up to see Sora waving at him.

"Oh. Wrong guy." He turned around again and continued to prepare the sign, what looked like for a fighting tournament. "What're you doing here?" I looked to the guys and raised an eyebrow, an unspoken question of how to answer the goat man. They all shrugged their shoulders. The man seemed to become inpatient at our silence and whirled around to look Sora straight in the face.

"Listen up! This here's the world-famous coliseum! Heroes only!" the goat yelled, making Sora's spiky hair fly back. I winced, the strength of his voice rivaling that of the Queen of Hearts.

He jumped off the pedestal he was standing on walked forward, his hooves making _clip-clop_ noises on the stone floor. "And I got my hands full preparing for the games." He continued walking forward forcing Donald to back up a few steps. "So run along pipsqueaks."

I risked a glance at Sora and saw him giving the glare of doom to the goat man. He hated when people called him short, especially Riku. Apparently being tall is an important thing in their world of competition.

When we didn't move, the goat placed his hands on his hips. "Look it's like this." He began to pace around, throwing his hands in the air to add to his story "Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum."

Donald crossed his arms and put a mean look on his face "You've got heroes standing right in front of you."

Goofy laughed and put one hand on my shoulder and the other on Sora's "Yup! They're both real heroes, chosen by the Keyblade and the Heartblade." I gave a halfhearted smile as Sora beamed at the goat man brightly.

"And we're heroes too!" Donald pointed a thumb at himself proudly.

The goat man gave an incredulous laugh and pointed at Sora "Hero? That runt?" He laughed louder "And that girl? A hero?" By this time he was laughing so hard he had to put his hand on the stone pedestal to keep from falling over.

Sora had enough of this goat man, I could tell he had serious injured his pride. "What's so funny?" He growled out "I've fought a bunch of monsters!"

The goat man wiped a tear from his eye "Hey, if you can't even move this…" He began to push against the stone pedestal he was leaning against.

We all stood and stared blankly at his struggle. The goat man turned and pushed his back against it whiles his hooves slid for a perch on the floor.

"…You can't call yourself…"

Sora crossed his arms as we all shared looks, rolling our eyes.

"…A hero!" He grunted out loudly.

He gave up trying to push the stone and slid onto the floor panting "Okay, so it takes more than brawn. Well, well, let's see what you can do." Sora smiled smugly in triumph. The goat man gestured towards the closed off entrance and we started towards the door.

"Whoa girly, where do you think you're going?" The goat man stepped in front of me and held his arms out. "No girls in the tournament."

My jaw dropped "What! That's so not fair!"

He shrugged "Sorry it's the rules. We can't let a pretty girl like yourself getting hurt."

I glowered at him "I'm tough. I can take it!"

He didn't look like he was convinced so I summoned the Heartblade "Let me show you what I can do." He glanced at the Heartblade, a curious expression overcoming over his face.

After a short pause, he signed in resignation "Alright fine. But before you get too excited, I'm going to be watching you closely, any sign you aren't up to this and it's bye-bye tournament." He waved me through the gate.

***KH***

Okay maybe the goat's training was tougher than I thought it was going to be.

We were all taking a rest in the grass of the training area, and we were all tired out. Goofy had a pot on his head from a training simulation; I'm guessing he didn't dodge it in time. "How long have we been at this? A-hyuck…"

Donald took off his hat and fanned himself "Two hours and forty minutes."

The goat, who had introduced himself as Phil, came over grinning widely. "You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad! Lucky you came to me for coaching!" He pointed at me "You're alright girly, not okay, but alright." I decided to take that as a complement.

He pulled out a measuring rope for arm muscles, holding it out to Sora. "Now, let's see the results of our training." He put it around Sora's arm and we all sweat dropped to see how far away it was from a line marked hero level.

"But being strong doesn't make you a hero." He jabbed Sora's chest "It's in the heart! In order to become a hero, your heart must be strong as well."

Sora scratched his chin "Well what makes a strong heart?"

"If you have to ask, you're not a hero yet!" we all turned towards the source of the random intrusion. A tall burly man with orange hair holding a rag and a water bucket smiled at us.

Phil jumped up and shoved Sora aside"Hercules!"

"Hey, Phil. I'm done cleaning the Coliseum toilets."

Phil scrambled over to Hercules and turned his head towards us. "Let me introduce you to...the man who's the most popular hero around here! Hercules!" Phil paused for a moment seeming to realize what Hercules had just said "…Cleaning toilets?"

Hercules nodded "Yeah. It's what you asked me to do."

This caused our goat acquaintance to bend over from laughing so hard. "I can't believe I made a _hero_ clean _toilets_!" As Phil and Hercules talked, Donald, Goofy and I watched as Sora attempted to raise a muscle on his arm. He sucked in a breath and strained till his face turned run to raise a small bulge on his arm. His breath came out with a whoosh and I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder while Goofy laughed and Donald shook his head.

Phil turned to us and Sora straightened up immediately. "Okay, well looks like this place is ready for the games!" We all jumped up but Phil shook his head "Whoa whoa whoa…I said this _place_ is ready for the games, not you guys!"

Sora's jaw dropped open "Why not!"

Phil held up two fingers "Two words: You guys ain't heroes!" Goofy and I counted his words on our hands and turned to give each other a confused look.

"Look kid your good, but not that good. Maybe take a year of my training and you'll get in." Hercules gave us an apologetic smile as we turned and walked dejectedly back to the Coliseum entrance.

As we were walking back down the steps to the Gummi ship Sora kicked a loose stone and it rolled into a dark corner. "This stinks!"

I nodded my agreement "After all that training too…"Suddenly the stone came flying back towards us and Sora had to duck to avoid getting hit in the head.

We turned to face the corner and saw a man in a dark cloak smiling down at us. And his hair was blue fire. Not normal. "Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?"

Donald gave a mistrusting look at the stranger "Who are you?"

The stranger ignored Donald and started walking towards us laughing "Whoa, hold on there, fuzz boy. Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?" He placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and Sora visibly stiffened. "Well then hey, get a load of this." He held his other hand in front of Sora and in a flash entry passes to the tournament appeared.

"A pass?"

The stranger smiled "They're all yours. Good luck, kid. I'm pulling for you, little shorty." He started to walk off but as he passed me time seemed to slow down. A dark aura pulsed around him and, as if he could sense my shock, he turned to give me a dark smile before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

We quickly ran back to the small room we first meet Phil in and flashed our entry passes. Phil's eyes widened as he took the tickets from our hands. "Hey, how'd you get this?"

"Can we enter the games now?" Sora asked hastily.

Phil hesitated "Well…I guess so. We start with the preliminaries." He looked up at us skeptically "Ready for that?"

Sora fist pumped "Yeah, let's go!"

Phil shook his head "Some real weirdos signed up for the games. Better watch yourself." And with that he waved us through to the arena.

As we stepped into the middle of the arena, an invisible force field flashed for a second before disappearing, signaling the match had begun. Donald quaked in alarm when he saw our opponents "Heartless?!" Four Solider Heartless and three Blue Rhapsody swayed in front of us.

I rushed at the Heartless with the Heartblade pointed forward and swung downward, eliminating a Blue Rhapsody in one swing. Donald let loose with a thunder spell, eliminating the other two and jolting a Solider. Goofy threw his shield into the stunned Solider and on the way back it knocked another Solider into the way of Sora's Keyblade.

Donald shot fira at the Soldier charging towards him, which caused it to burst into flames. I turned and shot blizzard at the remaining Solider and Goofy rammed him with his shield, shattering the Heartless to pieces.

We all jumped for joy and struck the heroic pose we made up during a break in Phil's training. The force field dissolved and we ran over to Phil, who had moved our team up on the leader board. "You ain't doing bad." Phil said, surprise showing in his voice.

I heard the crunching on the gravel of the arena and turned to see a man with blonde hair and a tattered cape that covered the bottom of his face walk by. He turned his head while continuing to walk and we locked eyes. The same dark aura I saw around Hades pulsed around him, and I narrowed my eyes at him as he turned away.

Phil crossed his arms as we watched him walk away "Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat." He shrugged and turned back to the leaderboard. "Who knows, maybe you'll end up facing him."

***KH***

"That little punk is your next opponent, okay?" The man with the blue fire for hair told the man with the tattered cape. "Now don't blow it. Just take him out. But don't harm the girl, we need her."

The man with the tattered cape remained silent for a moment before scoffing "The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a kid? Sorry, but my contract says-"

"I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract!" The man with the blue hair drew up in height, obviously losing his temper.

"I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament. But you gotta fight those kids to get him. Come on." The blonde remained silent so he continued "Hey, it's like that old goat says: Rule number 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it!" He made punching motions, which didn't impress the other man, who still remained silent.

"I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?" He laughed, and the blonde walked off without responding. The god of the Underworld watched him go "Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home." Heavy steps sounded behind him a three pairs of eyes glowed in the darkness causing him to smile "Still, suckers like him are hard to come by…"

***KH***

Several matches later, Sora pulled me aside for a talk. "Isn't it weird that there are Heartless in this tournament?" I nodded but was interrupted from responding by Phil nudging his way between us.

"What are you guys whispering about? We have to get ready for our next match!" He looked towards the leaderboard "The next opponent is…" before I could find out I felt something connect with the back of my head hard. My face met the ground, and I held the back of my head in pain.

I looked up and tried to focus my swimming vision into one figure. My eyes widened when I saw the man with the tattered cape standing over Sora, the very edge of a large sword right below his chin. I looked to my left to see Donald and Goofy lying on the ground, a large bump on the back of their head showing they got the same treatment as me.

"You're no match for me." The man with the cape muttered. "Trying to get rid of a kid like you…what is Hades up to?" I used the Heartblade to help me to my feet which brought the man's attention to me momentarily. His gaze flicked over my narrowed eyes. "And why are you so important?"

I started towards him when a shadow fell over us stopping me in my tracks. I l looked up, then screamed and leaped aside as a giant paw crushed the man in the cape. Sora scrambled up then threw a mega potion up, reviving all of our energy. Donald and Goofy warily raised their heads then gave a yell of alarm when they saw the giant dark thing standing above them.

A three headed dog with killer sharp teeth, massive paws, and glowing red eyes gave a chilling howl and snapped down at us. I leapt aside to get a good look at the heads and saw the same dark aura emanating from the beast. What is with this dark aura...?

A turned my head in the direction of a chuckle, meeting the smirking gaze of the man with blue fire for hair. "Oh, right, there was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." He then turned to walk down the dark corridor the dog must have come from. We backed up slowly as the dog's head reared up to gain power for a snap when Hercules rushed forward and rammed into its front.

Phil, who was evacuating the people from the stands, yelled out his name.

"Phil, get them out of here!"Hercules shouted.

Donald and Goofy wasted no time and scrambled away after Phil, screaming loudly. I hesitated when Sora took a worried glance at Hercules, but then he also turned and ran and I followed suit.

Phil was panting and had his hands on his knees when we ran in from the arena. "Whew, man that was close!" I sunk down to the floor and held my pounding head, Donald doing the same while Goofy fell flat on his face with his rear in the air.

"That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld. Herc should be able to handle him." Phil muttered.

I lifted my head up to give him a dubious look. "_Should be_?"

Phil hung his head "But then again, maybe not…This doesn't look good." Sora took one look at the despairing Phil and started heading for the entry way to the arena. Phil looked up, shocked. "Where are you going, kid!"

"I'm going to help Hercules" Sora gave a determined nod and continued walking forward.

"This ain't just some match. This is for real!"

"I know I'm not afraid. You can decide if I'm hero material or not." Sora answered calmly.

I stood up and summoned the Heartblade, arguing with a determined Sora was pointless, the sooner you came to realize that the easier life became.

"Sora, how come you always have to be the good guy?" Donald grumbled, dragging his feet to stand beside us.

"We're going with you! A-hyuck!" Goofy laughed while taking out his shield. And with that we left a shocked Phil behind as we ran out to face Cerberus.

As we were running out to the arena, Cerberus was backing Hercules into a corner. Hercules held one hand up, the other holding the injured man in the now even more tattered cape. As we stepped onto the sand all of the dog's ears perked up and the three heads turned to glare at us.

"We'll take it from here Hercules!" Sora shouted and took a battle stance.

Hercules nodded and ran to the entry way were Phil was waiting. "Hey, kid and girly! I got two words of advice for you: Attack!" He yelled and then ran after Hercules.

Cerberus pawed the ground angrily and gave a fearsome growl that made the ground rumble. "This isn't going to be easy!" I said, swinging the Heartblade around. I noticed the dark aura intensified around their heads and strangely dribbled from their mouths. "You guys aim for their heads!"

We all jumped different ways as Cerberus snapped down, his teeth missing my shirt by inches. I could feel the hot of his breath and I jumped back quickly as a fireball came flying from his other head's mouth. I winced as the fireball grazed the skin of my arm.

Cerberus swished his tail forcefully to knock down Sora who was attempting to climb his back to get a good view of his head. Donald retreated to a distance when Cerberus snapped and took out a couple of his feathers. Goofy jumped in front of Sora and deflected a fireball the left head shot out.

"Distract him!" Sora shouted as he attempted to climb up the dog's back again. I shot blizzard at the middle head while Donald shocked the left head and Goofy threw his shield at the right. The dog's head stifled a whine as the shield hit is nose, which seemed to make the other two head angry. They reared up and begin chomping down rapidly to try and bite us.

Meanwhile Sora managed to get on Cerberus' back and was attacking the middle head with fast combos of the Keyblade. Suddenly the dog threw himself onto his hind legs reaching an immense height. Sora yelped as he fell off the dog and started hurtling towards the ground, but Donald cast aero so his landing was a little less rough.

His breath came out with a whoosh and he laid there stunned. But Cerberus' paws were coming down hard so Donald cast aero again, successfully pushing Sora back out of harm's way…and into the wall. I heard Goofy chuckle as he tossed a potion into the air and called Sora's name. The green flower opened over Sora and he jumped up, rubbing his head and glaring at Donald.

I decided to climb up on Cerberus' back this time as the boys distracted the three heads from snapping at me. I brought the Heartblade in a swinging arch and cracked it down on the middle head with all my strength. The head drooped slightly as if it was stunned, which made the other two turn to look at me. "Uh-ooh…"

I leaped off as one head took a snap at me, but since I jumped it bit the middle head instead. The middle head yelped and came back to its senses, narrowing its eyes at the four of us. The dark aura intensified and little pools of darkness sprung up all over the arena. Donald was caught in the blast of one and he squawked in pain then collapsed on the ground.

I swiftly cast a potion over him then rolled out of the way as the dark pool opened bellow me. We all continued to run around, the dark pools following our movements. We continued to aim attacks at Cerberus' heads and I could sense a change in the dog's actions.

"You guys its slowing down!" I cheered, then brought my arm back and threw the Heartblade forcefully at the middle head; it was a direct hit to its eye. Cerberus whined and pawed his injured eye while the guys aimed for his other eyes.

Once he was momentarily blinded we swung in as many hits as we could while dodging the dog's random angry snapping. I drew back and threw the Heartblade again while, Sora ran in and swung the Keyblade down, Donald casted thunder over the dog's heads, and Goofy spun and hit the heads numerous times with his shield.

Cerberus bowed his heads slightly and panted heavily, and then as he attempted to stand up shakily he fell to the ground and didn't get back up.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and stared at the twitching unconscious dog, smiling broadly.

"We…we did it!" panted Sora. He jumped up happily and twirled the Keyblade around. "Oh yeah that's the power of the Keyblade!" We all hugged each other in a very dusty and gross group hug then ran to show Phil how he had to say we were heroes now.

We ran in jumping for joy as Sora yelled about how he was totally a hero now. He ran over and shook Phil by the shoulders "I'm a hero! I'm a hero!"

"Y-Y-Yeah…g-great!" Phil choked out. "But as indicated in rule 51…don't get a swelled head! You hear me? You're still-" he broke off when he realized Sora wasn't paying the least bit of attention to him and was instead staring at the stone pedestal.

"I bet I'm strong enough to move that pedestal now!" He ran over and started pushing. Donald slapped his forehead "Oh brother…" I shook my head then put my arms on the pedestal and pushed hard. A loud sliding noise echoed through the room and Phil looked up in surprised.

"Hey it moved!" Sora shouted loudly, then looked to his side and saw me pushing too.

"There's no rule saying we can't help you is there?" I smiled as Donald and Goofy joined in pushing also. It slowly but surely slid across the floor as we all strained against the heavy stone. As we pushed a light shinned through the bottom of it and we gasped in surprise as a keyhole was revealed to be on the floor under the stone.

Sora pointed the Keyblade at it and I summoned the Heartblade. They both started to glow and a light shot from the tip of the Keyblade and into the keyhole. The loud clicking noise echoed through the room, the same as Wonderland.

Phil turned to Hercules with a confused face "Hey, Herc, what was that?"

Hercules shrugged "It must be some kind of magical power…" He looked off into the distance "I tried moving that pedestal before, but I couldn't do it." Phil blinked in shock. "A power that can't be achieved alone…Phil, that group has something really special."

Hercules closed his eyes, a thoughtful expression coming over his face "I still have a lot to learn."

***KH***

Phil cleared his throat and held up a piece of paper to his face "Thus, I hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the game. Further-"

Donald blinked, seeming to realize what he just said. "Hey! What do you mean 'junior heroes'?!" He stomped his foot down angrily.

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero." Phil placed his hands on his goat hips.

Goofy tilted his head "So, what does it take?"

"Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves." Hercules smiled "Just the way that I did."

I gave him a thumbs up "No problem!"

"We'll start by proving ourselves in the games!" Sora added in a determined voice.

"There ain't gonna be any games for a while. Gotta clean up the mess from that last battle first." Phil interrupted Sora's gloating.

Oh yeah there's giant dog paw prints in the stone…and a giant dog unconscious in the middle of the arena. Funny how things like that slip your mind.

"Okay, we'll be back." Sora started walking towards the door then stopped and turned to give Phil a smug smile "And next time you see us, you'll be calling every one of us a hero!" I grabbed Sora and waved a quick goodbye to them before running out again.

"Looking forward to it!" Phil called out after us.

"I still can't believe those squirts actually beat Cerberus!"Phil shook his head, staring at the closing doors in wonder.

Hercules leaned down and whispered "Just between us, I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time those four jumped in."

Phil chuckled, glad his world once again made sense. "My lips are sealed."

***KH***

I waved the piece of paper around in front of Sora's face "Oh yes, we're now officially _junior_ heroes!" I wiped away a fake tear "Riku is going to be so proud!" Sora snickered then snatched the paper from my grasp and kept it out of my reach. We both laughed, but stopped immediately when we saw the guy in the tattered cape on the steps leading to the world gate.

Sora started hesitantly towards him "Hey, are you alright?"

The man looked up and I tensed but all he said was "Yeah."

Sora warily watched him as he attempted to start up a conversation. "So why did you go along with him, anyway?"

The man set his head down on his hands and closed his eyes as if remembering something. "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help." Pictures of Kairi and Riku flashed in my mind and I felt a stab of pity for the man.

"I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." He stood up and looked into the sky "I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but the story ended.

A few seconds of silence passed and I saw the dark aura that was originally around him had become faint. I suddenly felt sure this man wasn't evil; he wouldn't stay in darkness forever. "You'll find it." He looked to me and I repeated my sentence with more confidence. "You'll find it."

"I'm searching, too." Sora said quietly.

The man turned his head towards him "…For your light?"

Sora nodded and the man started to walk towards him. He held out his hand and dropped something small into Sora's "Don't lose sight of it." He gave a long look at me then turned and started to walk away.

Sora glanced at the object in his hand before suddenly yelling out. "How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square, no dark powers involved."

The man flipped his hair "I think I'll pass." And with that he walked out of sight.

A few seconds of silence passed before I laughed loudly "Rejected."

***KH***

"He's strong, he's kind. He's _always_ there for you, and he's handsome to boot! He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy!" Hades turned from blue to red as he became lost in his anger. A pillar of fire burst up into the sky as Hades blew off some steam.

He began breathing quickly before realizing what he was doing and stopped himself. "Wait a minute. What are you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax." He started pacing back and forth "Okay here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kid. In the next games, I'll take care of them both."

He laughed then, without turning around, spoke to the person behind him. "Who invited you to the party? Stay out of this. This is my show."

A witch dressed in a black cloak holding a scepter didn't seem angered by this comment. In fact she said perfectly calm. "As you wish. Fight to your heart's content. And with that she walked away.


	7. Chapter 7: Deep Jungle

_I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS.*cries* All characters, expect for little Akira, belong to Square Enix and Disney~ I don't enjoy the Deep Jungle world because of the boss battle I always have trouble with and those annoying little Heartless monkeys! And I have a fear of heights so I would have peed my pants then died if I was in Sora's shoes, sliding down all those vines and such ^^"_

***KH***

I gave a content sigh as I fell on to my bed on the Gummi ship after a relaxing shower. The Coliseum was exhausting, not to mention dirty. But it was a good experience for gaining fighting skills, and we found another one of those interesting gummi pieces.

But nobody else had seen those dark auras around Cloud, Hades, _or_ Cerberus! Before I could give that more thought, I had closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Or…at least I thought I did. It looked like I did. I shielded my eyes against the blinding white that surrounded me and tried to take a look around. _Pure heart…you have done well on your journey so far. _I blinked as I heard the voice echoing through my head with a sweet sound.

_But this is far from over. Your connection with Kingdom Hearts gives you an advantage, but it can also be a great burden. _"A burden…why?" I spoke out loud since I didn't see anyone else around me. But the voice ignored my question. _You have special powers inside you. One you have already seen. _"Which one?" _The power to sense the Darkness in people's hearts._

I gasped "Is that why those people had that black aura around them?" _Yes. "_So…how do I find my other powers?" The white background had an immensely calming effect on me and I struggled to stay awake…or would this be asleep? _They will come in time. _

What happened back on the island with the Heartblade and Keyblade flashed into my mind. "Back at the island, why did you say the Heartblade made a connection?" _Every pure heart must connect with a Keyblade wielder. Since you're a…special pure heart we assigned you to a special wielder. You two share a bond that connects your hearts together. Protect him well._

I wasn't sure I understood yet "What do you mean we're special?" But suddenly the white started to fade. I tried to grasp on to the voice again but the dream slipped away as I woke up.

I blinked my eyes open and sat up, then winced as a loud voice came on the intercom. "Get up Akira we're at the next world!" I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself as Sora attempted to end the intercom. "Hmm, what? Oh it's this button? Well then what does the one I was pushing-?" He was cut off as the intercom call was ended.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then tried to contact the voice using my mind, but to no avail. I guess it just shows up whenever it wants to then.

I got up and got dressed, then grabbed a quick bite to eat and ran up to the cockpit. Donald, Goofy, and Sora were pushing their faces against the glass to try and get a better look at the world. It looked like a dense jungle and it had a large waterfall pouring down the side of it.

"Hey, Donald, maybe King Mickey's down there." Goofy suggested. Donald scoffed "In a backwater place like that? No way!" He removed his face from the glass and started heading towards the helm of the ship "Let's move on."

"Wait!" I shouted "How do you know he won't be down there? We should check, just to be sure." Donald glared at me, not liking being questioned of how well he knew his own king. "I just know these things! He's not there!" He began to set course for another world.

"Hold on. Maybe Riku and Kairi are down there!" Sora jumped back from the window. "Akira's right we should go check." I could tell Donald's short tempered self was getting impatient "Forget it! We're on an important mission!" "Uh-oh…" Goofy muttered, sensing an argument coming on.

"Just land!" Sora yelled at the duck. "No!" Donald shouted back. "Come on!" Sora narrowed his eyes at him. "Stop being stubborn and land so we can check!" I yelled, getting miffed. I didn't see why landing was such a big deal. "Aw, phooey!" Donald turned the ship around.

I started towards the control center of the ship with Sora by my side. "We're landing!" Sora grabbed for the steering wheel of the ship, but Donald pushed him back, causing the ship to veer dangerously to the left. I yelped as my feet came out from under me and I slid towards Goofy, who caught me and helped me back on my feet.

"Don't touch that!" Donald squawked in alarm as Sora reached for a button. He made a grab for his arm, but Sora jerked back and Donald's momentum caused him to smash into the button. "Noooo!" We all gave a shriek of alarm as the ship turned completely around and continued spinning straight towards the world.

I was tossed from wall to wall and crashed painfully into the guys in midair as the ship stared picking up speed. I was thrown into the numerous buttons in the front of the ship and my stomach dropped as I heard an alarm blaring and red lights flashing. "The door's open! Everybody hang on!" I heard Donald yell. I attempted to grab onto something, but the strong winds pulled me out the door and I was sent hurtling down to the jungle world.

***KH***

The sounds of numerous bird calls and insect chirps woke me up and I opened my eyes to meet the vast green of the jungle world. I groaned in pain as my head started to throb and I held my head against my forehead. When I brought it back down I was surprised and a bit worried to see bright red staining my hand.

_I must have hit my head pretty hard…_Without lifting my head, I reached down to the pouch around my waist to grab a potion, but my heart fluttered in panic when I couldn't find any. They must have fell out when I dropped from the Gummi ship. So I would have to deal with the pain until I found—I froze. Where was Donald? Goofy? Sora…

What if they were hurt somewhere, worse than I was? I had to find them, quickly. I struggled to my feet and looked around. Nothing but dense trees and shrubs, so any way was a good direction to start walking. I pulled my shirt off, leaving me in my undershirt, and tore a large piece of fabric from it. I loved that shirt but I wouldn't need it for anything else in this heat. Using the piece I tore off as a makeshift bandage for my head I started walking into the forest.

I didn't have a watch so I didn't know how long I had walked for when I started hearing a crunching of braches and leaves behind me. I stopped walking and the noises stopped also. Getting wary I turned around, but I didn't see anything but dense foliage. "Who's there?" When nobody answered I called out a little louder "I know your there….show yourself!" So original I know.

The branches parted where I was staring and to my surprise a small gorilla came out from behind the trees. I blinked when I saw the hair on its forehead was sticking straight up, almost like it had styled it that way. It came cautiously forward, staring at me with an odd expression. Then it seemed to smile and it called out in gorilla speak.

"I-I'm sorry…I don't know what you're saying little buddy…" The gorilla seemed to stop and think about what I said, and then it took my hand and started walking. "Okay then…we're walking…right."

After a long while off walking (the gorilla gave me no time to rest) we entered a small clearing circled in bamboo. I smiled happily when I saw Donald and Goofy resting on a rock in the middle of the clearing. Well, I smiled happily when I saw Goofy anyways. "Thanks little buddy you helped me find…" I broke off when I realized the gorilla was now by the rock and was examining Donald's wand.

Donald reached back and stared groping for his wand. When he didn't feel it, he turned and was face to face with my gorilla friend. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then they both screamed loudly. The gorilla ran behind me and I reached down to pet its head reassuringly. It seemed to calm down long enough to hand me something, and then it ran off quickly. "Thank you!" I called after it.

Donald and Goofy perked their heads up and looked at me. They both smiled "Akira!" Goofy ran over and gave me a hug "We sure are glad you're safe!" Donald stopped half way when he was running to give me a hug and looked at me coolly. "Hello Akira, nice to see you again." I stared back with narrowed eyes "Same."

I held out the item the gorilla gave me, it was another gummi piece. I smiled smugly "This world wasn't worth coming to, huh?" Donald glared. It was then I realized I didn't see Sora with them. "Is…Sora with you guys?" Goofy frowned "You mean he's not with you?" I shook my head and my heart starting beating franticly. Donald's eyes flashed a look of worry before becoming uncaring once again. The voice had said to protect him well; I'm not doing a good job so far.

Tree branches started to rustle behind us, and the loud snapping of sticks echoed through the clearing. We all froze and turned around slowly to stare at a large sophisticated looking man holding a gun. He stared at us with a calm expression and I gave a nervous laugh. "Um…hi?"

"What in the world…? How did you three get here?" He asked. "We…don't know!" Donald quacked. I elbowed him "Way to go duck." Donald elbowed me back. "We're kinda lost mister. Do you have a place we can stay for a bit?" Goofy asked. The man thought for a second. "Follow me." And with that he walked off, not looking back to see if we followed him or not.

"Well…I don't know about you guys but I'm going. I need to get this cleaned and wrapped up properly." I gestured to my wrapped up head. "You don't happen to have any potions do you?" Donald and Goofy both shook their heads. "Know any cure spells?" I elbowed Donald, but was disappointed when Donald gave a small shrug. "I didn't take an ether before we went up to the cock pit, my magic is almost gone and cure depletes it pretty fast when it's a wound like that."

I gave a sigh of defeat. "Oh well, if he turns out to be a psycho we can take him." Donald and Goofy didn't seem to have anything to argue against with that so we followed him.

The direction he walked off led us right into a messy camp. Tents were set up with bamboo poles and large stretches of fabric and a large pile of things looked like it had been dumped right in the middle of camp. Research items were strewn about the camp grounds, and a girl was spinning a globe, looking bored.

She tilted her head up as we walked in "Oh…Clayton who did you find?" she asked when an English accent. The man with the gun gestured to us "I'm not sure. I found them in the jungle; apparently they don't know how they got here."

She looked at us confused, but then her eyes softened as she eyed my temporarily bandaged forehead. "Oh come in here, darling. I'll help you with that." She took my hand and pulled me into a large tent. Inside was an old fashioned projector flashing different pictures on a projector screen.

She sat me down and took off my torn shirt bandage, then pulled out a medical kit. "Now just sit still I'll finish up quickly." She cleaned the wound and put on real bandages while Donald and Goofy went outside to look around the camp.

I looked up as the tent curtains moved aside to show a man in a loincloth walk in on all fours, and behind him came Sora. I jumped up and ran to hug him tightly and nuzzled him. "Thank god! I was so worried!" I blinked when I realized what I was doing and I stepped back quickly.

His eyes widened when he saw my head "Are you okay?" I waved off his question. "You're the one who was alone for a long time, are _you_ okay?" He nodded and smiled "Thanks to Tarzan." He pointed to the ape man talking to Jane, the girl who bandaged my head.

"Who's this?" She asked pointing to Sora. "Oh, I see you two are already acquainted with each other." Sora nodded "Um, hi there. I'm-" "You speak English?" she said in surprise. She blinked "So then, obviously, you're not related to Tarzan..."

She put a hand on her chin to think. "Are you here to study the gorillas?" "Highly doubtful." Clayton walked in along with Donald and Goofy. Sora jumped happily "Goofy! Donald!" He rushed to hug them. I smiled, so Donald _was _worried about Sora. Suddenly Sora and Donald seemed to remember why we were on this world in the first place and they moved apart from each other, crossing their arms.

Goofy and I gave a sigh as they glared in opposite directions. "A circus of clowns. Not much use for hunting gorillas." Clayton muttered. Jane seemed appalled by this "Mr. Clayton! We're studying them, not hunting them! This is research." He continued on, ignoring Jane.

Her shoulders drooped slightly, but she picked right back up and turned to beam at us. "Well, the more the merrier. Do make yourselves at home." Sora and Donald were still glaring at opposite walls. "Well anyways…" Sora said. "I'm staying!" Sora looked at Donald in surprise when he realized they said that at the same time.

"Check out what we found." I held up the gummi piece. It was bigger than the others we had previously found, and was square shaped. We all gathered in a small circle around it. "What's that?" Sora poked it. "It's another gummi block!" Goofy chuckled happily. "So that means…" Sora trailed off and looked at Donald. Donald crossed his arms and looked away then sighed in defeat "The king could be here."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." I stuck my tongue out at the duck. He twitched "So, we've gotta work together to look for him. _For now_!" He added at the end. Sora scoffed "Fine. I'll let you tag along. _For now_." He added mockingly.

We turned to see Jane looking thought the pictures. "What are those for?" I asked. "Apparently Tarzan was raised in the jungle by the gorillas." I raised my eyebrow and she smiled. "I know it's pretty amazing. So I use these to help him learn English. Communicating with him still isn't easy, but he's learning."

Realization dawned on Sora's face. "So he was speaking 'gorilla' back there…" "Ah, that's right." Jane pointed at Sora "You're looking for your friends?" Sora nodded "He said Riku and Kairi are here." He glanced back at me and I could see the hope written all over his face "And then he said this one word I couldn't understand…"

Jane put a hand on the projector "Why don't we try this?" I tilted my head in confusion "How's that going to help?" "We'll show Tarzan some slides and see if any of them match that word." She bent down and seemed to be looking for something. "Oh, what happened to the slides? They must be outside somewhere…"

"Well that won't help us at all!" I pouted. "We'll go find them for you!" Sora ran outside of the tent. I smiled at Sora's energy and motioned for Donald and Goofy to follow me outside. Sora groaned when he saw all of the stuff. "How are we supposed to find it in al l this stuff?"

"Well she was over there when we came into camp." Donald pointed over to the corner made by the overhanging fabric and bamboo sticks. Sure enough a slide was lying on one of the boxes. "Yay!" I jumped up happily "That was fast!" Sora read the back of it "It has a two on it." "….How many slides are there exactly?"

***KH***

"Okay we'll only four more that wasn't that bad." I held up the slides and squinted to see the pictures. "Speak for yourself!" Sora was rubbing his arm, which he had landed on after falling through the fabric for the tents to get a slide. Donald laughed and Goofy stifled his chuckles with his hand. We put in the slides in order and clicked on the projector light. The first picture was spread out on the wall, a large castle.

My heart seemed to overcome with a familiar sense dread when I saw it, but I didn't know why. I felt Sora tense beside me; did he feel the same when looking at that castle? Donald seemed to notice our discomfort "What's wrong Sora?" Sora snapped out of a daze "What? Um…nothing."

He looked back at the castle closely "This place…It just looks so familiar." "You feel that too?" He turned towards me with surprise. "Yeah…but how? We've never been off the island." I muttered and Donald shrugged. "Maybe you saw the picture in a book somewhere."

We continued flipping through all the pictures, when it ended Jane turned to Tarzan. "Well, Tarzan?" He remained silent. "Where are our friends? Riku and Kairi?" He shook his head. Sora's disappointment showed in his voice. "Hey, I thought-"

He was interrupted by the deep voice of Clayton. "That leaves just one place." We all turned to see him entering the tent, still carrying his gun. "Do you ever put that down?" I asked nervously. He ignored me "Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours." I felt a bitter disappointment well up inside of me.

"Well then-" Clayton cut Sora off "I'd wager they're with the gorillas. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them." He shook his head with disdain. "Really, Mr. Clayton. Tarzan wouldn't hide-" He interrupted Jane, this guy is rude. He marched up to Tarzan and stared him straight in the face. "Then take us there! Take us to the gorillas. Go-ril-las." He sounded out the word slowly.

Tarzan turned to Sora and looked him in the eyes. Sora stood still and stared back. Finally, Tarzan nodded. He would take us to the gorillas. Jane seemed surprised "Tarzan…are you sure?" He nodded and spoke in primitive English "Tarzan go see Kerchak."

"Who's Kerchak?" I whispered to Sora. He shrugged. "He must be the leader. Perfect!" Clayton rubbed his hands together. "I'll go along as an escort." Well if that wasn't suspicious I don't know what was.

"After all the jungle is a dangerous place." He smiled for the first time, and it seriously scared me. Suddenly a dark aura flashed around him quickly before disappearing. I stepped back, alarmed.

Sora blinked in confusion "What's wrong Akira?" I shook my head, I wanted to tell Sora what I saw but that would mean explaining the voice, and the dark auras nobody else could see. And I didn't know what was going on very well myself, so I decided to stick with the other thought that popped into my head.

"That guy is a creepy pedophile." Sora laughed and shook his head "He's creepy but I don't think he's a pedophile." I scoffed "He so totally could be." We walked outside laughing, but stopped when we heard a deep growling noise. I looked up slowly to see a muscular leopard staring down at us. Sora tensed "Oh no…not this thing again."

I could hear Donald's breathing increase and I looked over to see him staring at the leopard with fear. "Oh geez please don't eat Donald…" I muttered. Despite the situation the corner of Sora's mouth twitched up. We all back up slowly, but suddenly Tarzan jumped at the leopard, spear pointed towards its throat.

It growled and jumped down and aimed for us, but Sora swung the Keyblade like a baseball bat at the wild cat's head. It made a direct hit and the leopard stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. It lay still for a second, but then struggled to its feet and shook his head. Tarzan yelled at it loudly and waved the spear around and the leopard bolted towards the bamboo clearing.

I breathed a sigh of relief, glad the leopard didn't stay to fight; we didn't need more wounds when we had no potions to speak of with us. "Okay Tarzan, lead the way." Tarzan stepped to the head of the party and walked towards the exit to the left of the camp.

The exit to the left lead to a big opening with two small ponds separating us from the other side of the clearing. It might have been peaceful if it wasn't for the intense heat. I swatted the mosquitoes away from my face while Sora took his jacket off and waved it around wildly. Tarzan however wasn't bothered by the heat or the insects, and he hopped right into the pond.

We all blinked as he gestured for us to join him in the water. I stuck a finger in and shook it off "Well…it's not disgustingly warm." I wadded in and the guys joined me. We waited and Tarzan gestured to the water. I gasped as something touched my toes and began rising me up out of the water.

We looked down to see we were standing on a hippo that was rising to the surface for air. It pushed us up far enough for us to jump to the next island. We repeated that will the next pond, although we fell off the hippos a couple times.

When we reached the final island, Tarzan started climbing up the vine into the trees. I looked up and gulped to see how high he was climbing. Sora placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder then began to climb the vine.

I placed my hands on it then pulled myself up and began to inch up the vine. "Ugh I'm lucky I practiced climbing that rope to the ceiling in P.E." I muttered.

Soon we had climbed up the rope and onto a rather large tree branch. I wiped my hands on my pants and watched Tarzan stare at something on a tree branch across from us. There were two gorillas on it, one with brown fur and a gentle face, and the other one with huge muscles that looked like he wanted to eat us all.

Tarzan seemed to be trying to convince the huge gorilla, who must be Kerchak, about something. He kept turning to gesture at us. Goofy leaned down to whisper "Did you get that?" "No." Donald whispered back.

Suddenly Kerchak turned his head away from Tarzan and began to walk away. The brown gorilla lagged to give us a sympathetic look before following Kerchak. Tarzan hung his head in defeat. "Did it look like he was hearing something to you guys?" I looked after the gorillas. "He seemed sorta distracted by something." Goofy agreed. "Was he looking towards the tree house?"

"We should go check…maybe something is wrong." Tarzan quickly jumped off the tree branch and swung on some loose vines towards the tree house. "Oh…never mind!" I gave a nervous laugh. Sora looked down warily while Donald attempted to reach out and grab a vine. "You gotta do it like this guys!" We turned around to see Goofy laughing as he swung from vine to vine after Tarzan.

"H-How did he do that?" I spluttered. Donald shrugged then ran and jumped onto a vine. He gave a quack as he jumped off the vine onto the next one. "Goofy! Wait up!" I could feel my face pale as I looked down to the fall that was sure to happen if I went around swinging like a monkey. I didn't even notice Sora come in front of me until he put my arms around his neck.

Sora looked back at my questionable facial expression. "You should hold on tighter if you don't want to fall." I blinked and wrapped my hands tighter around his shoulders. Then, since I didn't want to choke him, hesitantly put my legs around his waist. I was pretty sure my face could pass for a tomato, but all awkward thoughts passed from my mind as he jumped onto the first vine.

I screamed every time he let go of a vine to swing unto the next one. He finally fell on the tree branch Tarzan was on and I slid off shakily. "I…don't like this world…"I wheezed. Sora looked up at me and nodded. His face was red, and whether it was from carrying my extra weight or my awkward position, I didn't know. I was going with a mix of both.

Tarzan nodded when he saw we were all here, and then began climbing a vine up higher. I groaned "No not more heights!" We climbed up to the top and emerged in a rather foggy area completely covered in vines. Tarzan leaped onto a platform and went through a tunnel in the vines.

I blinked as we exited the tunnel into the bright light of above the treetops. A long bridge led to a tree house, how did somebody build that so high up? We all walked across the bridge and onto the pathway leading up to the tree houses entrance. Where we saw Clayton aiming his gun at my gorilla buddy.

"No!" I ran up and shoved him roughly, throwing his bullet off track. It whizzed through the wooden ceiling. "Run gorilla buddy!" The small gorilla gave a horrified glance at the gun and bolted up to the upper level of the tree house, where Kerchak was waiting.

"What's the big idea?" Donald squawked loudly in Clayton's ear. Clayton winced and fell onto the floor in shock. We all turned to see Tarzan run to speak to Kerchak in a pleading voice. But the large gorilla snorted and walked off. My gorilla buddy shot us a gratitude look before running after Kerchak.

We all turned to glare at Clayton. "You don't understand." He smiled and I hid behind Sora "Creepy pedo…" I whispered to Sora. Clayton narrowed his eyes at me and I squeaked. "I was only trying to…" He paused to think "Ah! A snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla's life!" I gave an incredulous snort and Sora shook his head "I didn't see a snake."

A silence passed when Clayton couldn't think of anything to say after that. "Well…we should go back to camp. Which way so that?" My eyes widened as Tarzan pointed to out of the tree house then jumped off the side. "Oh…no."

***KH***

"How could you do such a thing!" Jane was chewing Clayton out, and I must admit, it was pretty entertaining. "Now, Miss Porter, as I told you, I was not aiming at the gorilla." Sora stood up and pointed a finger at Clayton "I object!" Clayton shoved Sora's hand away, but backed up as Jane thrust her finger in his face.

"You are _not_ to go near the gorillas again!" Clayton shrugged "All because of one mishap? Come, now…" he trailed off when we all crossed our arms and glared at him. He gave a nervous chuckle then turned around and stormed out of the tent.

We all froze when, not even a minute later, the silence was ripped open by a gunshot. We bolted outside to see a bunch of Heartless that looked like monkeys surrounding a gorilla. "Heartless!" They all perked up and then ran towards us. One jumped up and I summoned the Heartblade to block its attack.

Its claws clicked against the Heartblade and it gave out a cry of anger and frustration. I pushed it back and swung the Heartblade clean through it. I looked around to see the guys had finished the other monkeys off. The gorilla turned and ran towards the bamboo clearing.

"Where's Clayton?" Donald growled. "I think we should follow that gorilla." I gestured over my shoulder for the guys to follow me. I knew we were on the right track when I saw the bamboo clearing was filled with the monkey Heartless, surrounding the gorilla once again.

They all slid towards us, claws forward. I yelped in pain as its foot claws slashed my leg. I shot a blizzard at it and it froze on place. One of the monkey Heartless came over and tapped the ice then started laughing. I blinked in confusion; I guess the monkey Heartless also acted like monkeys.

When all the monkey Heartless were gone the gorilla ran into another pathway and we followed again. The pathway led to a little cliff area. "Why are there so many high places in this world?" We took care of the monkey Heartless and paused. "Well…no Clayton here" I sighed, all that work for nothing.

Sora looked around and nodded "You're right, let's go back to camp." However, on the rock in the middle of the bamboo clearing, was a large fang. "That wasn't there before…was it?" Goofy tilted his head.

Sora reached for it but drew his hand back when a shadow passed over his head. We all summoned our weapons as the leopard for earlier roared loudly at us. Sora threw the Keyblade at it, but it jumped to the side quickly. Tarzan ran towards it spear pointed forward, but the leopard swatted it out of his hand and clawed at his face.

Tarzan pushed it back, into the pathway of Goofy and his shield. The leopard growled as the shield rammed into its side forcefully. It leapt away and Donald cast thunder around it, attempting to scare it away.

It shrunk back, then turned and jumped into the bamboo. I lowered the Heartblade "Did we win?" Donald twirled his wand but then his eyes widened in surprise as he looked behind Sora. "Look out!" Sora spun quickly around as the leopard jumped out of the bamboo straight towards him, claws extended for a killer blow.

The world seemed to go into slow motion as a force seemed to tug at my arm. I pulled it back and threw the Heartblade at the leopard. A glowing light surrounded it and it smashed into the leopard in midair. I caught the Heartblade when it flew back to me and blinked in surprise. Sora stared at me in shock "….How come you never moved that fast when we were racing on the island?"

I looked towards the leopard lying still on the ground, its side caved in. I winced as I stared at the blood trickling out of its mouth "I-I didn't mean to kill it!" Sora was still staring at me in shock "But if you didn't then I'd be the one who was dead."

Goofy nodded "Yeah you saved Sora's life." Donald chuckled "He owes you." I dismissed the Heartblade and looked away from the leopard, my stomach turning "Let's just go back to camp."

When we walked into camp, my stomach tightened even more. "Something's…off." Sora said, looking around. It was quiet, not even any Heartless. I pushed back the tent flap and looked inside…no Jane.

"Hey, where's Jane?" Sora walked in behind me. "Everything's knocked over." Donald squawked. "Looks like somebody's been fightin'." Goofy muttered with his finger on his chin. Tarzan seemed to be staring into the distance "Tarzan, what's wrong?" I asked. He opened his eyes and turned to us "Something coming. Jane, danger. Jane near…Near tree house."

"They must have a deep connection for him to be able to sense that." I smiled "It's kinda cute." "Well ya know, I remember the king telling me that when two people's hearts are connected, they can sense what the other is feeling even if they're worlds apart." Goofy nodded his head as he remembered that.

"_You two share a bond that connects your hearts together…" _The voice had said we were connected…was the bond that strong? "Well then let's head to the tree house."

***KH***

After repeating all the dizzying heights and once again having to swing from vine to vine on Sora's back, we arrived at the foggy area before reaching the tree house. We heard a plea for help and looked to see my gorilla buddy and Jane trapped behind vines. "That big black fruit look suspicious." Goofy walked over to the tree in the middle of the vine enclosed area and poked the giant fruit hanging down from it.

"Oh wow this is suspicious." We spent a lot of time aiming our attacks towards the fruit, its outer shell was very hard, but it finally burst open, showering us with black fruit goo. I sighed and wiped the stuff off my face "It's okay, this world didn't get me all sweaty and dirty enough I really needed that."

Sora warily licked some off his hand and made a face "Ew this is bitter!" As we jumped up to the platform we shook ourselves to get rid of most of the goo. "What happened, Jane?" I asked tentatively.

She closed her eyes "Clayton came to the tent, and…That's the last thing I remember." "Clayton?" Sora narrowed his eyes and I shook my head, I knew Clayton was a bad person! My gorilla buddy franticly made hooting noises at Tarzan while waving its arms around.

"Gorillas trapped. Terk ran." Tarzan said. Jane gasped "We have to help the gorillas!" Sora patted her shoulder "Don't worry Jane; we'll take care of it." He gave her a reassuring smile "You just stay here, where it's safe." She hesitated but eventually gave a nod lowered herself off the platform.

"We should get there quickly, let's take the short cut!" Sora ran to the tunnel behind where Jane and Terk were being kept and we entered a smaller vine covered room. "Down here, Tarzan showed it to me earlier." Sora pointed down a hole in a giant log. "Err…how long is that drop?" I blinked.

He whistled innocently while walking behind me, and then shoved me down the hole. I screamed as a slid down the log and landed on a vine. The vine, however, was slick and I began sliding down. "Oh no ooh no—Sora I'm going to kill you!" I shrieked in panic. Somebody came behind me and wrapped their arms around me. I glared when I heard Sora laughing.

"Well if I told you what the short cut is then you wouldn't have gone with us!" He threw me up as he slid under a tree branch in the way of a vine. When I came back down I was in Tarzan's arms, and even he had a smile on his face from my reactions.

The vine ended up throwing us into camp. Tarzan promptly dropped me on the ground and I mocked crying while rubbing the dirt. "I hate this world…" Donald snickered while Goofy helped me up.

I glared at Sora and he gave me a _what are you gonna do_ shrug. Tarzan walked ahead towards the bamboo clearing. We ran past the rock I found Donald and Goofy on and to the cliff area. As we ran, we saw Clayton pointing his gun at the gorilla with brown fur that was always by Kerchak.

"No!" Sora shouted. Clayton paused and turned towards us with a calm cool expression. Kerchak knocked aside some monkey Heartless and the brown furred gorilla ran towards him. They both ran to the wall and climbed the vine to the top.

The dark aura blazed around Clayton like a black fire and I turned on high alert. "Clayton?" Sora must have sensed a difference in him because he summoned the Keyblade. "Not Clayton!" Tarzan made panicked hooting and grunting noises "Not Clayton!" He repeated.

Monkey Heartless appeared all around him as he pointed his gun at us. I paled, how are we supposed to fight a man with a gun? I backed up and was about to throw the Heartblade at him, but then I remembered what killed the leopard and stopped. I didn't know what caused that sudden power surge, what if it happened again? I couldn't kill another _person_!

I dodge rolled as Clayton fired at me with his gun. Donald electrocuted him with thunder and he was blasted back. But he got to his feet with the help of his gun, when a normal person would've been knocked unconscious from the blast.

As he aimed for Donald I ran up behind him and slammed the Heartblade into his back. Clayton grunted in pain and swung the gun at my head. I blocked it and Goofy threw his shield into him from a distance, knocking him back.

Clayton got up again, and aimed the gun at Sora. We both tensed, but then Clayton lowered the gun and stepped back. The wall behind him was blown to bits, as if something had forcefully smashed into it. The scenery was beautiful, and I would have admired it if it wasn't for the gun staring me in the face.

Tarzan charged towards Clayton, but something threw him back against the wall. He landed with a heavy thud and we froze when we heard the cocking of a gun. Clayton was floating in the air, riding on an invisible beast is what it looked like.

The exit flashed, the only sign a force field had sealed us in with Clayton. We started attacking the invisible thing he was riding on, I felt rather silly until our attacked actually made the thing reveal itself. It was a giant lizard. Clayton was riding on the back of a giant lizard.

It hissed at us and flung us back with its long tail. I winced as my injured head hit the hard rock wall. I opened my eyes to see Donald using magic from a distance to hit the lizard.

The dark aura around Clayton was fully engulfing him now; he was no longer in control of himself. "You guys, aim for Clayton!" We continued jumping up to attack Clayton and casting magic from a distance. Goofy was throwing his shield and Sora throwing his Keyblade when a view was open.

Clayton cocked his gun and fired it at us; I froze when I heard a cry from Sora. I turned to see him holding his shoulder, his face scrunched up in pain.

He pulled his hand back and my face darkened when I saw blood staining his hand. Time seemed to slow again and with an involuntary movement, I pulled my arm back and threw the Heartblade at Clayton. It nailed him in the stomach and threw him off the lizard.

I blinked when I realized what had just happened but, thankfully, when I caught the Heartblade there was no blood on it. In fact Clayton tried to struggle to his feet. But the lizard Heartless, who was struggling to its feet also, was fading in and out of view. It wobbled dangerously, and then fell right on top of Clayton. The Heartless faded and its heart twirled up into the sky.

I ran over to Sora and pulled his hand back, wincing when he gasped in pain. The bullet had gone through his shoulder, and I patted my pockets only to remember we had no potions. And Donald used the rest of his magic on Clayton.

Donald was looking at Sora with concern and Goofy was frowning. "Donald!" I gasped "Teach me how to cure!" He blinked "Well usually it takes a little while of practicing before healing a wound like this…" _Pure heart, stop panicking. _I blinked in surprise. _You know what to do. _

I was about to say that I really didn't know what to do, when an image of a girl placing her hand on a blonde's wound appeared in my mind. The blonde had spikey hair, and blue eyes identical to Sora's. The girl closed her eyes and a white glowing appeared on her hand, closing the wound up. The blonde looked at her in surprise then the image faded.

I put my hand on Sora's shoulder and closed my eyes. I concentrated on what I wanted to do in my mind, and I felt my hand heating up. I heard all three guys gasp in surprise, then Sora's relieved sigh.

I opened my eyes and pulled my hand back slowly. There was no wound. Not even a scar showing that a wound had just been there. Sora blinked and skimmed a hand over his shoulder, then looked at me. I felt a sense of extreme déjà vu come over me mixed a strong sense of loyalty and fondness for Sora.

I hugged him tightly, and he hugged me back. We let go and the sense of familiarity faded, leaving me feeling empty for some reason.

All the gorillas came from the giant hole in the wall made by the lizard Heartless. Sora stood up and we all stiffened as Kerchak came towards us with the brown furred gorilla. Kerchak reached a hand out and placed it on Sora's shoulder, then hurled him up into the air.

We all gaped in surprise as our eyes followed Sora's movement through the air, ending with a flinch as he landed heavily on the cliff above us. Kerchak did that with each of us, each one landing on Sora. He groaned "I…don't like...this world."

I stood up to take in the beautiful view of a large waterfall pouring into a lake, with a clear view of the blue sky. Tarzan climbed up and stood beside us. "Tarzan, home." He said smiling.

He led us behind the waterfall, where it turns out there was caverns behind it, twisting up through the rock. Sora glanced at me several times while we were following Tarzan, and I knew his was itching to talk to me about the healing. But he stopped himself and turned to continue walking each time.

When we had reached the top of the cavern, we were led into a tunnel covered in leaves and vines, which lead to an ever bigger area encased with leaves and vines. A tree was stretching up the cavern wall, with something blue glowing in the middle of it. I looked closer to see butterflies gathered together in a group.

Tarzan grunted something in gorilla. "This is your home?" Sora asked "But that means…" Tarzan held out a hand and cut him off, then cupped it to his hear. "Hm…?" Goofy seemed to ask what was going on. "The waterfalls…They're echoing all the way here!" I turned to see Jane and my gorilla buddy walking up to us.

I bent down and hugged Terk quickly before turning back to the glowing light. Tarzan repeated the same noise from a couple seconds ago. "Friends there. See friends." I scratched my head "Not quite sure what he's talking about…"

Jane thought a moment, and then realization dawned on her face. "Oh, now I've got it!" She repeated the sounds Tarzan made. "That means heart." "Friends in our hearts." I murmured. Tarzan nodded "Heart…" He slowly pronounced. "Oh. So that's what it meant." Sora sighed in disappointment.

"Friends, same heart." Tarzan then shook his head "Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends." He touched his chest, where his heart would be "No heart, no friends."

Donald and Sora turned to each other "Sorry about what I said." Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry too." Donald quacked. Goofy laughed "Yeah. All for one, huh?" He grabbed my arm and pulled us all in for a group hug.

The butterflies started getting restless right about then. They fluttered away quickly as Sora walked up to the glowing light, revealing another keyhole. The butterflies glided around the room, lighting everything in a soft glow. I summoned the Heartblade as Sora summoned the Keyblade and pointed it towards the keyhole.

The light brightened at the tip of the Keyblade and shot a beam into the keyhole. Glitter floated around as a lock sounded throughout the space. "That was about the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and probably will ever see in my whole life." I said. Jane nodded her head in agreement.

The keyhole spat out something small before disappearing and leaving a space in the vines. I bent down to pick up the item and hold it in my hand. "A gummi!" "But it's sure not the king's." Goofy said, sadness showing clearly in his voice.

Donald hung his head, but then perked up as Terk nudged his shoulder. "I think someone has a new admirer." Jane said in a singsong voice. "Ooh you gotta girlfriend Donald?" Sora laughed. Donald stepped back and furiously waved his hands around. "No, no, no, no! Daisy would _kill_ me!" This, of course, caused Sora to laugh harder and Goofy to chuckle. I clapped him on the back "So you're a ladies man, huh?"

***KH***

"That gummi block that came out of the glowing hole…It's not like others. I wonder what it's used for." Sora stretched out on the couch. "I dunno." Donald replied. "Maybe Leon'll know?" Goofy suggested.

Donald nodded "Hm…He might. Back to Traverse Town then?" I jumped up happily "Yay!" Sora laughed and jumped up with a serious face "I wanna be pilot!"

Donald scoffed. "Oh, no way!" Sora tossed his head back "Oh, come on! I'm the Keyblade master!" "I don't care who you are, no!"

I shook my head "Here we go again…" Goofy laughed. After twenty minutes of arguing who was going to drive the gummi ship, Donald put it on autopilot with a course set for Traverse Town. He said we all needed our rest, and I couldn't agree more. That world was way worse than the Coliseum exhaustion wise.

When I had just settled down under the covers, I heard my door open and looked up to see Sora standing in my doorway. He closed the door then flipped my light on and sat down on the floor, staring at me.

"…Hi Sora…?" I rubbed my eyes. "Okay time to talk about what happened." Sora gestured to his shoulder. "What was that?"

I shook my head "I don't know myself, Sora. It just kinda…happened." Sora thought about this for a second. "So…afterwards…did you get another creepy sense of déjà vu?"

I nodded "Yeah, like we had done the same thing before." Sora's face crumpled in concentration and confusion "But…that never has happened before." I shrugged. "Maybe it was just a coincidence." Sora looked in my eyes and I saw that he knew I didn't really think that.

"And when you did that I felt…a connection." That was new for me. "You did?" He nodded his head "To you. Our hearts our connected...Remember what Goofy said the king told him? Maybe that's what caused your powers."

"That would be a pretty good idea, huh?" I smiled then threw a pillow at him. "Okay chatting time is over, I'm tired." He smiled and chucked the pillow back at me. Then he walked over, brushed my hair back, and kissed my forehead.

I flushed and he smiled then turned and walked towards the door. "I knew that would make you feel awkward! You're just so funny when you're flustered!" He laughed and I pouted.

"Oh…and Sora?" He paused and tilted his head back at me "Yeah?" "I know your planning on sneaking into the cockpit. Don't do it, I saw Donald planting traps for you." He smirked "Who says I was planning on doing that?" Then he walked out of my room, turning my lights off and shutting the door behind him.

***KH***

_A cookie for whoever knows who the blonde waaas! Hehehe, this chapter actually turned out longer than I expected~ Thanks to all of you who enjoy reading my story! Whenever you add a comment or add this story to your favorites I get all warm and fuzzy inside! Remember: Make pasta not war!_


	8. Chapter 8: Return to Traverse Town

_I don't own Kingdom Hearts!...Or Disney! All characters belong to either Square Enix or Disney :D Except Akira, but I'm sure you know that by now! If you don't then shame on you! STAY LITTLE DESIGN PAGE BREAKER THINGIES WHAT EVER YOU CALL THEM! STAAAAAY *slams head against desk* Oh and I just realized I never introduced Jiminy! I feel so bad but you know never late than never ^^'_

***KH***

"Ahhh, it's good to be back here!" I smiled. Donald nodded his head in agreement "Yeah…if only we had come under BETTER SERCOMSTANCES!" He turned and screamed at Sora, who was wiping dirt off his clothes.

Sora waved his hand "Hey I was doing fine until you freaked me out and made me crash!" Donald twitched "You rammed us. Into a meteor!"

Goofy laughed "A-hyuck! You sure did Sora!" I shook my head and clapped him on the back "You really suck at driving dude." He pushed my hand away and we walked up the steps to reach the Second District.

Yuffie was leaning against the door looking bored, but perked up when she saw us. "Hey, little people!" She ran over and hugged us tightly "How's the quest for world's safety going?"

"Pretty good!" I smiled and she jumped up in happiness. "But we have a few questions to ask Leon, do you know where he is?" She nodded "He's probably in the basement. He trains there all the time."

I blinked "The basement?" "Yeah, just go behind the bars in the alleyway." After Yuffie waved goodbye to us, we walked through the Second District to the alleyway. Sora pushed against the bars "How do we get behind there?"

We looked around the bars and, finding no way through, we decided to use force. Before Sora hurt himself trying to smash the door open, Donald used aero and the bars were pushed back and fell into the water.

We waded through the water and looked around all the interesting cave formations on the walls. "I didn't know there was a place like this underground…" Sora gaped at a giant painting of the sun and moon.

Leon was swinging his gunblade around in various combos against invisible enemies but he paused when he saw us approaching the little island he was on.

We sat down by the lantern Leon had and Sora took up explaining what happened in all the three worlds for the most part. Donald, Goofy, and I jumped in occasionally when he left something out. When he was done Leon paused to think about it.

"So, you found the keyhole." He said, leaning back on one hand. Sora nodded. "Yeah. The Heartblade started glowing, and then the Keyblade locked it automatically."

"Good. Every world among the stars has a Keyhole. And each one leads to the heart of that world. There must be one in this town as well." Sora's eyes widened and I gasped in surprise. "The heart of a world?"

"I didn't know worlds had hearts too." Goofy said, narrowing his eyes in confusion. Leon nodded "It was in Ansem's reports." He seemed to glare off into the distance. "The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core."

I thought of our island "What happens to the world?" Leon looked at me "In the end, it disappears."

"What?" We all shouted at once. "Gawrsh!" Goofy muttered. "That's why those keys are so important. That's why the keyholes must be locked. Sora, Akira, you're the only ones who can do it."

I gulped and Sora gave a nervous laugh. "B-But we're just-" Leon cut him off "Besides, seeing other worlds would probably serve you well."

Donald nodded and Goofy chuckled "We gotta find your friends and King Mickey!" Sora rubbed the back of his neck "I guess you're right…" Donald patted us both on the back "Of course we're right!" I giggled "Oh Donald…"

Leon smiled slightly and I gasped "Squall you're smiling!" When the boys turned to look his face became expressionless again and I pouted. "I asked Cid to fix the Gummi ship." Leon said with his _expressionless _face.

"Really?" My smile faltered "Wait…how did you-" "Oh yeah!" Sora cut me off and pulled the gummi pieces we found in the other world out of his pocket. "We found these gummi blocks that are different from the others. Any idea what it's for?"

Leon nodded to above ground "Ask Cid. He should know." "Great, thanks Leon!" Sora pocketed the gummi pieces and ran off.

***KH***

"You're flyin' a Gummi Ship and you don't know nothin' about navigation gummis?" Cid scoffed and flicked the toothpick that was always in his mouth. "Bunch of pinheads. Interspace ain't no playground!"

Sora crossed his arms "There's a lot we don't know. So what!" I nodded "Yeah we're kinda new to this saving the world thing!" Sora continued ranting "We have to use the Gummi Ship to travel to other worlds! It's not like we have a choice!"

Cid held up his hands in surrender "Whoa, easy! I didn't know. No hard feelings, all right?" He scratched his head "All right! I'll install it while I'm fixing the Gummi Ship." Sora smiled widely "Really? Cool!"

Cid smirked "I told you to come to me in times of trouble. I'm always here to help!" He ducked behind the counter and rummaged the shelves for something while explaining what the gummis do. "Basically, with new navigation gummis, you can go to new places."

He emerged from behind the counter with a dusty book in his hands. "Though while I'm working on that…I've got something I need _you_ to do for _me_." He waved the book around, scattering the dust.

I waved my hand in front of my face and coughed while Sora complained loudly. Cid leaned over the counter and smiled threateningly "Haven't you heard of 'give and take'?" Sora cowered back "Gotcha!"

He held out the book to us. "I need you to deliver this book." Sora took it and examined it closely "What is it?" He asked. I poked it "A love dairy?" Cid's mouth dropped open "_No_!"

"This guy brought it in, it was practically falling apart. Too beat up to restore it to the way it was. But overall, I did a decent job putting it back together." I turned it around and examined the faded out cover.

"It goes to the old house past the Third District. You can't miss it. Look for a big fire sign." Suddenly the ground started shaking as a loud bell rang in the distance. "Whoa what's that?" I asked. "It's the bell above the gizmo shop. You should check it out." And with that Cid sent us out of his shop.

I flipped through the pages while we were walking to the door. All the pages were either ripped out or blank. "Hm...This is an interesting book…"

After fighting through a couple Heartless, we stopped in front of the door with the fire symbol. We pushed against it and pressed all around the door to see if there was a secret entryway, but to no avail. "Well…now what?"

Donald tapped his foot in thought then quaked in realization. He pointed his wand at the door "Fire!" The spell hit the door and it magically opened. "Whoa, Donald how'd you know that was gonna happen?"

"I actually thought I would just burn it down…" He laughed nervously. Sora snorted in laugher and shook his head.

The door led to a large cavern with a small house in the middle of a lake. "Well this place is pretty cool." I said while looking around. "How do we get to the island?" Goofy asked.

Sora pointed to stones leading to the island. "We jump on these!" He smiled and leaped towards the first stone, but then it shifted and moved to the right quickly. Sora splashed into the water while we bust out laughing.

Sora climbed out of the water, now sopping wet. "I think that's the house's security system." Sora glared at us playfully then his eyes lit up. "Hey, Akira, it's your turn to jump!" He then shoved me forward and I jumped before I could fall in the water.

I expected to hit water so I closed my eyes, but when I heard Sora's cry of indignation I opened them to see I landed on the rock safely. I laughed and continued to leap forward, the guys following behind me.

We walked into the little house, which looked like nobody had lived in for years. I coughed and blew away the cobwebs in front of my face "Is Cid trying to prank us or something?" I laughed, but my laughter faded when I saw Sora's face pale and his eyes widen.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked hard, still staring at that one spot. "Um…are you okay Sora?" He looked at me with a confused face, and then quickly turned back towards the one spot. His shoulders drooped in disappointment and I felt a flash of worry for him.

Before I could ask what happened, I heard a voice at the entryway of the house. "Well, well." We all turned to see an old man in blue clothing with a long white beard and a pointy hat standing in the door way holding a travel bag. "You've arrived sooner then I expected."

Sora shook his head and walked over to the man "Wait…wha…You knew we were coming?" I coughed and waved dust away "You actually live here?"

He nodded "Of course...and yes I do live here." Oops. Sora squinted his eyes at the man "Are you…a Heartless?" Donald face palmed. "He doesn't look like one." He quacked out, annoyed by Sora's naïveté.

Sora pouted and I snickered. The old man laughed "Oh, my. No!" He gestured to himself "My name is Merlin. As you can see, I am a sorcerer."

I pointed to the top of his head "The pointy hat gave it away." Merlin scowled "Well then Akira I see you're as polite as ever."

Sora gasped in surprise "You know her name! You really are magical!" Donald cleared his throat and waved his wand around, only to find he was being completely ignored by his fellow sorcerer.

"I spend much of my time traveling. It's good to be home." We all looked around at the dusty cobweb infested house. "Nice place…you have here…" I said, swiping a finger along the stone and waving it around when it collected dust.

Merlin ignored my comment "Your king has requested my help." Goofy smiled widely "King Mickey?"

Merlin nodded "Yes, indeed." "Donald, Goofy, Akira, and who might you be young man?" I could see a teasing glint in the older man's eyes that told me he knew the answer already. Sora however, didn't see it and his face fell "I'm Sora!"

"So you've found the keys, excellent." He smiled. "What did the king ask you to do?" Donald asked. Merlin held up his hand "Just a moment…" He hoisted up his bag and walked into the raised platform in the middle of the room.

Setting his bag down, he waved his hands in the air "Presto!" The bag opened with a click and we all jumped back as mini pieces of furniture emerged from it and began floating around the room. Merlin continued waving his hands and the furniture started getting bigger and bigger as they traveled in a small circle around him.

I squealed "This is so cool!" Merlin, seeming happy with the sizes of the furniture and the places they were floating over, waved his hands down. All the objects settled gentle down, and all the dust and cobwebs were swept away.

A small fire was lit, making the room feel comfy and a lot brighter. "There, now. Ahem." He cleared his throat and gestured for us to join him around the table. When we were settled his waved his hand and a kettle poured us all tea.

"Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic. Especially Sora and Akira." We had our blank faces on again "Us?"

Merlin took a sip of his tea. "You are still using the power of the keys instinctively." We both nodded at that. "You must learn to control this power. We can start anytime you like."

"Let me know when you're ready to begin the training." He took another sip of his tea "Oh and one more thing." He pointed towards a small carriage in the corner of the room which caused it to glimmer and sparkle.

A form appeared in the sparkles and suddenly an older woman with a kind face was smiling at us. I looked over to see Sora's eyes stretched wide with wonder and I grinned. "Hello. I'm the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked me to help too. I will assist you throughout your journey." She waved her wand through the air and a small trail of blue sparkles followed it.

"I do not know how much I can be of help, but I do stop by at any time." Merlin said. I was so overcome by all the magic we just saw, I almost forgot why we came here in the first place. "Merlin, Cid asked us to bring this to you!" I held out the book and he took it carefully.

"Oh, that book…So, Cid asked you to bring this?" We all nodded. "Thank you." He said, holding the book up to his face. He then glanced at us form the corner of his eye "You wish to know what kind of book it is?" I smiled in excitement and Sora nodded furiously.

"In fact, it's not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day." He gestured to the bag he was carrying earlier. "It was such a curious book, I asked Cid to repair it for me."

He walked around the room looking for a place to put the book down. He finally found an empty spot on a small wooden pedestal. "Well, I guess I'll put it here for now. This book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it."

"Well…where are the missing pages?" Donald asked. Merlin shrugged "I don't know!" I sweat dropped. "But I'm sure you'll come across them on your journey. My best regards to Cid for repairing it for me. Oh and about that stone of yours…You should ask the Fairy Godmother about that."

I blinked in confusion "What stone?" Sora dug in his pocket until he pulled out a small stone "Leon gave it to me for luck…how'd you know about it?" Sora tilted his head. Merlin just smiled and continued drinking his tea.

We walked over to the Fairy Godmother and Sora held out the stone. "Do you know what this is?" She gasped sadly "Oh, the poor thing!"

Sora looked at the stone, then back at the Fairy Godmother "Ummm…" She took the stone and held it in the palm of her hand "He has turned into a summoning gem."

"A summoning gem?" I poked the stone. "This little creature lived in a world that was consumed by darkness." I cooed and pet the stone "Poor little creature!" Sora gave me a weird look.

"When a world vanishes, so do its inhabitants. But this one had such a strong heart; he became a gem instead of vanishing with his world." Sora seemed to stop and think about this "Can he regain himself?"

The Fairy Godmother nodded "Yes, but only his spirit. Now, watch!" She put the stone down and waved her wand "Bibbity bobbity boo!" I giggled "Those are fun magic words." A little spark flew from the wand and landed on the stone.

A shimmery image of a fierce lion appeared, and he gave out a loud roar. He looked at us and nodded before fading once more into a stone.

Sora picked up the stone "Ooooooh!" He held it out and I pet the stone again. "Whenever you call, he will help you. If you find any more of these, bring them to me." We all nodded and Sora put the stone in his pocket again. "But…will he ever be able to return to normal?" I couldn't help but feel sorry for the lion.

"Don't worry, when their worlds are restored they will return there. Sora, Akira, please help save them." Sora clenched his fist in determination "We will!"

***KH***

After practicing shooting magic at floating furniture, we decided we should probably head back to Cid. We waved goodbye to Merlin and the Fairy Godmother then hopped back across the stones.

When we walked into Third District I sighed "It looks like we have more things to find." Donald looked back at me "Let's just take it one step at a time." He gave a reassuring smile, which in turn made me grin. Because, hey, when do you ever see Donald smiling at you?

Sora smiled widely and turned to give a thumbs up. "Yeah, one step at a time!" We all smiled back, but I gasped as a Soldier jumped on his back. "Shoot! Sora reached up to throw it off, but suddenly a sword came down and sliced through the Heartless.

"Hey, wake up Sora!" I gasped and Sora spun around quickly. "N-No way!" Riku smiled and rested his sword on his shoulder "There you are. What's going on?" Sora walked over slowly "Riku!" He stretched out Riku's face by his cheeks and I laughed.

Riku slapped Sora's hands away "Hey, hey, cut it out!" I ran over and hugged him tightly "We found you!" Sora squinted his eyes and stared at Riku "I'm not dreaming this time, right?"

"I hope not. Took forever to find you guys." He flipped smoothed his ruffled hair back. Sora just shook his head and laughed happily. I stepped back and my smile faltered when I realized somebody was missing. "Wait a second, where's Kairi?" Sora's face was overcome with worry when Riku looked at me with a confused face.

"Isn't she with you?" Sora hung his head and grimaced and I whimpered, concerned for the safety of my friend. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island too." Riku walked pasted us and looked to the sky "We're finally free. Hey I'll bet she's looking for us here in the outer world right now."

"We'll all be together again soon. Don't worry!" I heard a soft hiss and looked behind Riku to see a Shadow emerging from a dark portal. I turned to point it out to Sora, but he'd already seen it. Riku however didn't and continued talking "Just leave everything to me. I know this-"

I ran over and knocked the Heartless over to Sora with the Heartblade, and he slashed through the Shadow in midair with the Keyblade. Sora gave Riku an arrogant smile "Leave it to who?"

Riku was looking at Sora and me in shock "Sora, what did you-" I smiled "You're not the only one who can wield a sword now Riku!"

Riku looked at me cooly and something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before I could read what it was. "Hey we've learned a few tricks while looking for you and Kairi!" Sora didn't see the tense exchange between us and rested the Keyblade on his shoulder, striking a heroic pose. "With the help of our buddies here of course."

Donald cleared his throat "Ahem. My name is-" But Goofy cut him off when he hugged us together.

"Oh and guess what! Sora's the Keyblade master, and Akira's a Pure Heart and can wield the Heartblade! A-hyuck!" Donald shook his head and smiled "Who would have thought it?" Sora tensed up and glared down at the duck "What's that mean!"

I turned to Riku, expecting him to be laughing along with us, but my smile faded when I saw him staring at us with narrowed eyes. He held his hand out and I gasped when I saw Sora's Keyblade in his hand. "So, this is called a Keyblade?"

I winced as my head started to throb and I cupped it in my hand. A strong feeling of resentment and hatred rose up inside me and I clenched my fist tightly, focusing on the pain there to control my rage. Then the rage suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a strong ache of loneliness.

When it faded I let out a gasp of relief and looked up to see Sora was once again in possession of the Keyblade. He gave me a concerned glance then turned back to Riku. I ran a trembling hand through my hair, wondering if my heart briefly connected with Riku's.

"Okay…so you're coming with us right? We've got this awesome rocket! Wait 'til you see it!" Donald crossed it arms and glared at Sora "No, he can't come!" Sora bent down and stared at Donald in shock. "What!" Donald held Sora's stare and moved closer "Forget it!" He growled.

"Oh, come on! He's my friend!" Sora gave an exasperated sigh. I looked towards where Riku was standing but I blinked in confusion when he wasn't there. "I don't care!" Donald stomped his foot down. "Guys….guys..." I nudged Sora's shoulder but he continued to glare at Donald.

Goofy looked up instead and gasped loudly "He's gone!" Sora snapped his head up and looked around "Riku?"

He ran around wildly "Where did he go! I still had so much to ask him! Riku!" His head drooped and I walked over and hugged him. Donald shared a guilty glance with Goofy "Sora…"

Suddenly Sora perked up and smiled widely, giving me a crushing hug. "Oh well! At least he's okay!

He let me go and I fell to the ground gulping in air. "Who knows maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too." Donald fell to the floor. "Huh? What's wrong, Donald?" "Your moods sure change quickly…"

I crawled over and lifted up an arm to Sora. He laughed and pulled me up "You crushed my lungs!" I wheezed.

"Hey!" we turned and saw Yuffie waving down at us. "Are you guys done with your errand? Come this way!" She flipped off the stairwell she was on and landed in front of us. "We're going to have a strategy meeting in our _secret_ hideout."

She tugged Sora away and we followed her up the stairs and into a small house. She busted the door open "Yoo-hoo, Yuffie has arrived!" We all stopped when we saw everyone sitting around a small table staring into the distance bleakly. "Oops…Is it gloomy in here, or what?"

"You guys ever hear of Maleficent?" Yuffie tensed beside me "Wha?" The name sounded familiar but I couldn't tell why, I had never heard the name before.

"Male-who?" Sora tried to say her name but forgot the ending. "A witch man! She's a witch!" Cid spat out with malice.

"She's been using the Heartless for years; we lost our world thanks to her." Yuffie growled. Leon leaned against the wall and stared at us coolly "One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world. That was nine years ago."

Cid gestured to Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith "That's why I got out of that mess and came here with these guys." Donald jumped up and decided to shake Goofy violently by the shoulders to express his sadness "That's awful!" I shook my head and Sora's face dropped

"I didn't know that…" "Maleficent is probably looking for Ansem's research." Aerith said softly. We all became quiet to hear her soft voice. "He was our ruler, and he dedicated his life to studying the Heartless. His report should tell us how to get rid of them."

"Why would he want to study Heartless?" I muttered. Sora shrugged "So, where's this report?" Leon causally lifted his shoulders "We don't know. It got scattered when our world was destroyed."

"I'm sure Maleficent's got most of the pages." Cid scoffed. Suddenly Sora jumped up and cried out "Then let's do it!" We all turned to him with confused looks. "Let's find the rest of the pages! And stop the witch's plan! Okay?" Cid smiled widely as Leon shook his head at Sora's energy levels.

***KH***

"You see? It's just as I told you." Maleficent was watching the scene in the small house from a distance with Riku by her side. "While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with new companions."

"Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you. Not only that, but he is keeping from you the only way to save her." Riku narrowed his eyes and Maleficent glanced down at him. "You're better off without that wretched boy." She placed a comforting hand on Riku's shoulder and bent down to his level.

"Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for…if you help me obtain the girl." Riku continued staring at Sora with a cold expression and nodded. Maleficent smiled, she had this boy right where she wanted him.

***KH***

"So, you delivered that book?" Cid placed his hands on his waist and stared down at us. We nodded and he flicked his toothpick. "Good. I fixed the ship and installed that new navigation gummi. You find another one, you bring it to me."

We nodded again and he smiled "Well, better get back to my real job." I opened my mouth to ask what his real job was but he cut me off. "What is my real job? You'll see. See me at the First District." I blinked; did he just read my mind?

"I've been thinking about the bell in the Second District." Aerith said, staring out the window towards the bell. I turned "The one that rang a bit ago?"

"The one above the gizmo shop." Yuffie confirmed. "There's a legend about it, you know." I snorted "No I don't know, how many legends are there that I don't know about?" Sora chuckled.

Yuffie shook her head and smiled. "But it's all boarded up. Nobody can get in there." Aerith said. Cid scoffed "These four could bust through those boards. Heck, go check it out. Ring it three times to see if anything happens."

"Three times, gotcha!" I said, giving a thumbs up. And so we headed out to the Second District. "So, how many things do we have to find now?" I smiled as the guys all held out their fingers and started counting.

"Okay, so one is Kairi, since we kinda sorta found Riku." Sora said. "Next is the king." Donald listed, holding up another finger. "And don't forget the Keyhole's of each world." Goofy laughed. "And the pages to Merlin's book." I held up four fingers. "Stones that contain spirits for the Fairy Godmother." Sora listed. "And Ansem's reports." Donald finished up.

I sighed "I wonder if we forgot anything." This made Sora laugh "Probably did. We should keep a list of stuff we have to find."

By the time we finished our conversation of all the things we have to find, we were at the doors the gizmo shop.

When we walked inside I was instantly confronted with the whizz and clank of machinery hard at work. We all looked around at the bright colors of the gleaming metals while walking towards the door at the other end.

As we pushed the door open, the brightness of the shop faded, leaving us the dim light of the Second District. Looking to the right, I could see we were already a ways up and had to close my eyes to rid the dizziness forming in my stomach.

Sora tugged on my arm to pull me away from the edge and to the ladder attached to the left side of the wall. The ladder had obviously not been used in a while, as the bolts connecting it to the wall were rusted, making the ladder lean precariously towards us and away from the wall. The ladder squeaked as Sora applied pressure on it with his foot. He gave a nervous laugh and began to climb up it slowly.

Donald was next to go up and he gave a quack as the ladder wobbled when Sora climbed off it and onto the ground above. Goofy let me go next, saying that if the ladder fell he could catch me. I graciously thanked him and started to ascend up the rickety ladder.

I reached the top safely and turned to pull Goofy up causing the ladder to squeak loudly. We both winced, expecting the sound of crashing metal, but surprisingly the ladder stayed attached to the wall.

As we walked to the middle of the roof a bunch of Green Requiem, Blue Rhapsody, Yellow Opera, and Red Nocturne appeared and started flying around. I groaned as a Blue Rhapsody darted quickly out of range when I went to smash it with the Heartblade "I hate these things!"

I leapt at it again, only to see this brought me close to the edge. A fall from this height would certainly be fatal, although the Deep Jungle was still much worse. Backing up I stuck to practicing my spells, far away from the edge.

Once they were gone, we turned to the boarded up entryway to the bell. Sora stood back and squared his shoulders, then ran full speed towards the boards. I winced loudly as the sound of skin hitting a solid object produced a loud smack which resonated through the Second District.

Sora slid down the wood slowly, his face now all red and his nose bleeding slightly. I sighed and shook my head helping him to his feet "Sora…Cid said all four of us could break it. Not just you."

"Yeah, it's like the stone back in the Olympus Coliseum." Goofy laughed and handed Sora a random tissue as Donald laughed in the background.

Once Sora was cleaned up…well…his nose blood was gone….we all took position in front of the wood. Donald charged full speed into the boards, followed by me, then Sora, then Goofy. We all fell to the floor as the boards busted under our combined weight, groaning.

"That plan…went better in my mind." I grumbled, squirming my way out of the dog pile. The boys got up and dusted themselves off and we all looked up at the bell. It was large, but rather plain. No intricate designs decorated the bronze metal, which was slightly rusted around the edges.

A rope was hanging down from the bell, and we all grabbed hold and pulled down. The bell slowly moved from side to side, chiming loudly. I covered my ears, then looked around as the ring faded and stone grating against stone replaced it. We ran out and looked over the edge to see the small fountain's wall was changing.

It slowly spun, revealing a new design. "Two more times!" I shouted, and we all ran back to the bell. We rang the bell a second time, causing the wall to spin again and send a shower of sparks up its side.

Third time's a charm, and as the bell echoed throughout the area, sparkles surrounded the fountain. The wall spun again, and water shot out of the fountain, making the air around it seem to glimmer as the light caught the droplets. The wall's design of butterflies began to shimmer and distort.

The wall was replaced with a large glistening Keyhole. We all laughed and high fived each other "Alright, let's lock this bad boy up and get started on finding all the crap we have to find!" I smiled.

We slid down the squeaking ladder, ran through the gizmo shop, the down the stone steps, and stopped in front of the Keyhole.

Sora raised the Keyblade, but before I could summon the Heartblade a figure fell out of the sky and landed with a heavy thud in front of us. The shock wave sent Sora flying back into me and we both crashed onto the hard ground. Goofy yelled loudly as he smashed into Donald and they both landed beside us.

I blinked away black spots and looked up to see a familiar figure standing in front of us. The Heartless we eliminated when we first met Goofy and Donald, Guard Armor, was alive once more, back for revenge.

We stood up and shook our heads, then turned and gave each other a thumbs up just like we did when we first took this thing down.

We split up and each took a separate body part to start attacking. At first the battle seemed way too easy, we had become stronger since we last faced it, and Guard Armor fell apart as we smacked it into oblivion within a few seconds.

I backed up, panting slightly, and examined the pieces of the Guard Armor. What I couldn't figure out was why they weren't disappearing like last time…Suddenly they began to shake and I jumped back as the pieces reformed into Guard Armor. "Uh oh…" Donald muttered with worry.

It slammed its hands into the ground and floated over them as the feet moved to fit the space the arms were moments before. Its torso flipped, and finally the head came down and its mask opened, revealing beady yellow eyes. I shivered and tensed as I held the Heartblade in a ready position to attack.

It raised its now clawed feet and swiped at us, we all held our weapons in front of us and the metal all clanged against metal. It took a swipe at us with its booted hands and nailed Goofy's shield, smashing it back into his face. I winced and threw a potion into the air, calling his name. The potion's flower petals opened over his head and he went right back into fighting.

I leaped up and swung the Heartblade in an arch over my head, attempting to hit the Guard Armor as it floated away. It was now a lot more unpredictable as its movements were erratic and sudden.

Instead of splitting up to attack the body parts, we all began to aim for the same one. In this case its clawed feet. As the feet spun to slash at our faces, we all brought up our weapons and deflected the sharpened metal claws. Then as it was momentarily stunned, we attacked with furious blows, retreating back whenever it swung its booted hands.

We continued this assault until both of the clawed feet burst into wisps of darkness. The booted hands took a little longer to defeat, but eventually they too burst, leaving the Guard Armor as just a torso once again.

Donald hung back and cast thunder whenever the opening was available, being careful to aim as to not shock one of us. Goofy blocked the rapid spins of the torso and threw this shield at the head in attempts to knock it off. Sora and I leaped up and unleashed spinning combos on the torso, immediately jumping back up whenever our feet touched the ground.

The torso leaned over, seeming to be falling over but stopped and a light started to gather at its center. I gasped and threw myself to the floor as a giant laser beam was shot over my head and smashed into a wall.

A cloud of dust and debris was flung outward and revealed a massive hole in the stone "Don't let it shoot another!" Sora shouted, swinging the Keyblade at the Guard Armor's head.

We all aimed our attacks at the head and Sora brought the Keyblade down for one last time. The Guard Armor starting shaking and the head, no longer supported, fell down into the torso. A light shinned from the mask and a heart twirled slowly into the sky, leaving the Guard Armor to fade into light along with it.

We all breathed a sigh of relief and took time to address our wounds before turning back to the Keyhole. The Heartblade glowed faintly and Sora held the Keyblade point towards the center of the keyhole. Light gathered at the tip and shot into the Keyhole, locking it immediately.

The keyhole slowly broke into tiny pieces and fluttered upward, bringing the design of the butterflies back into view slowly. A gummi piece tumbled down at our feet before the Keyhole disappeared entirely.

***KH***

"Hey, now that was quick!" Cid flicked his toothpick as we gathered in front of him. "Now you know. I'm in the gummi block business."

"Then why'd you act like it was cool like you were a secret agent or something!" I whined and Cid twitched. "It is cool!..." He coughed "Anyways. Working on your Gummi Ship sure was great. Come again and I'll give you a big discount."

Sora smiled widely "Like, as in for free?" Cid stared at him "No. As in a big discount." Sora hung his head.

I snickered and held out the gummi piece to Cid and he picked it up to examine it closely. "Hey, got another navigation gummi there, eh?" We all nodded. "I'll bet you want it installed." We all nodded again. "A please would be nice." We all paused then nodded.

Cid sighed and scratched his head. "Hmm…well it looks like this is another one of those blocks that comes in sets. You gotta find the mate to this one." "Nice usage of words Cid."

Cid smiled and tossed the gummi at me. I caught it and put it back in my pocket "Find the gummi's girlfriend, got it." Sora threw his hands up in the air "Another thing to find!"

We heard the scribble of pencil on paper and turned to see Goofy writing it down. "You…actually made a list?" I laughed. Goofy nodded "Yup! And when we find one thing, we just cross it off! A-hyuck!"

Donald pinched the bridge of his beak "Well, I guess we are at that point where we have to keep a list." Goofy nodded, then took his hat off and suck the list and pencil in it and placed it back on his head.

We waved goodbye to Cid and started walking to the world's exit when we heard a crash come from Cid's shop. I winced and turned to see if Cid heard and would come running down to blame us for whatever that was.

When nobody came to investigate Sora waved for us to follow him and he pushed open the door to the shop. The bell above the door rang as the door slid open and we peered around. A little wooden puppet was lying under the counter with a small treasure box beside him.

"What a cute puppet! I wonder if somebody's looking for him." I tilted my head and bent down to examine him further. I heard a small gasp as a cricket hopped out of Sora's hood, journal in hand.

Sora looked very confused and blinked and spluttered "Who…what…how did he…?" The cricket just laughed "Well, well, as I live and breathe! If it isn't Pinocchio!" The cricket hopped off of Sora's shoulder and beside the puppet.

To our surprise, the puppet lifted his head "Oh. Hi, Jiminy!" He smiled and watched as Jiminy hopped closer. "What in the world are you doing down here?"

Sora blinked and kept looking from the cricket to his shoulder. "How did you have a cricket in your hood and not know?" I laughed. He shrugged and turned to Donald and Goofy with a questioning quirk of his eyebrow.

"That's Jiminy." Donald explained, pointing to the cricket talking with the wooden puppet. "He was put in charge with documenting our journey to find the king."

"Oh, so that's why he has the journal." I said. We all turned when we heard a shocked cry of "Pinocchio!"

I blinked to see the puppet's nose had grown in size. Jiminy walked closer to the puppet, giving him a stern stare as we watched the scene unfold in silence "Are you telling me the truth?"

The puppet nodded his head furiously "Yes!" Which caused his nose to grow a little further. Jiminy scowled "Then tell me, what is this?" He gestured to the little box beside Pinocchio.

"It was a present." We all stared in surprise as his nose grew even longer. "No fibbing, now!" Jiminy waved a small umbrella at Pinocchio. "You know you're not supposed to tell lies!"

"A lie only grows and grows, 'til you get caught!" Jiminy jumped onto the puppets long nose. "Plain as the nose on your face!"

Pinocchio shook his head and Jiminy jumped off. "But if you want something, why wait? Why not just take it?"

Jiminy looked stunned "Oh, my! Who told you that? You need some advice from your conscience!"

Pinocchio smiled "That's right! You're my conscience, Jiminy! I'll never tell lies as long as you're around!" His nose shrunk back to its original size as Pinocchio watched it change, cross-eyed.

Jiminy nodded in approval "You need to be good so you can become a real boy. You promised Geppetto you would be, right?"

"Oh! Do you know where Father is?" Pinocchio's face lit up with hope. "He's not with you?" Jiminy asked, concerned. "Jiminy, let's go find Father!" Pinocchio cried out as he stood up quickly.

"Now, hold on!" Jiminy held up his hands and stepped in front of Pinocchio. "There are all sorts of dangers and temptations out there!" Pinocchio stepped back and looked at Jiminy.

"I'll go find Geppetto, so you just wait here." He hopped back and gestured to us "These fellows will be helping me."

"We will?" Sora blinked. I elbowed him and smiled kindly at the small puppet "Of course we will!"

"Well, shall we go?" Jiminy hopped back onto Sora's shoulder. "You could've asked us first…" Sora groaned.

Goofy laughed then took the list from his hat and added Geppetto's name to it.

***KH***

_Poor poor Akira and Sora, they have to find so many things they're keeping a list! Hope you enjoyed this chapter~_


	9. Chapter 9: Agrabah

_Hey guys! As usual, I don't own any characters but Akira~_

_I was bored myself while writing the beginning of this chapter so I figured I'd force Sora and Akira to endure it with me x3 And actually, this happened to me once…my two best friends doodled on my arms, face, and legs when I took a small cat nap -.-' Don't forget to review! _

***KH***

"Got any threes?" "…No. Go fish." I sighed and added another card to my deck. Sora looked at his cards, then to me, then to his card, and to me once again with a bored expression. "Are we there yet?" Sora whined loudly so his complaining would reach the cockpit.

Donald's louder voice screamed down at Sora to quit whining. I groaned "It's been two days! How much longer is it going to be till we get there?" There was no reply and we both groaned.

"Gosh I'm so bored!" Sora threw his cards in the air. We both watched as they fluttered to the ground and flashed random numbers. "Why does this world have to be farther apart from the rest." He pouted and I sighed. "I think it's only going to get worse from here on Sora."

"Well we need to find something to do!" Sora declared. He paused to think of a suggestion. "Should we…raid the fridge?" "Nah." I waved my hand in dismissal of the idea.

Sora tapped his chin in thought "Go bother Donald?"

"Nuh-uh…read a book?"

"We're trying to _cure_ our boredom! Play another round of go fish?"

"No way!"

Sora sighed loudly in defeat "Then what should we do?" I turned towards Goofy snoring loudly on the couch opposite to us and smiled evilly.

I ran off to retrieve a marker then ran back, giggling all the while. Sora gave me a critical look and I shrugged "I get mischievous if I'm too bored." Sora lay down, his eyelids dropping as I doodled on Goofy's face.

When I looked back towards Sora I saw he had fallen asleep on the couch. His chest rose and fell evenly as I tip-toed over, marker posed in hand.

I drew a fake mustache and a smiley face on his check, then stated I ruled on the other. By the time the bell rung, signaling we had reached the next world, I had officially done away with my boredom.

I shook Sora and Goofy awake then skipped up to the cockpit to sneak a peek at the next world we were visiting. A rather large palace was sitting atop a desert region while a cave shaped like the head of a tiger sat gaping on the bottom of the world.

I blinked when I realized Donald was smearing sunscreen across his beak. He paused his application when he saw me staring at him and tossed me the bottle "You might need this."

I scoffed and set it down "I hate sunscreen. Besides I grew up on an island I can deal with a little sunburn."

"Key word here is island, not desert." Donald pointed out. "…Can you even get beak burn?" I asked him. He scowled and continued rubbing the sunscreen across his beak, but he looked up as Sora and Goofy entered the cockpit.

He looked from their faces then to me and broke out into laughter, pointing from them to me and back again. Sora and Goofy tilted their heads in confusion then turned to look at each other.

Their confused expressions soon turned to shock as they saw the marker all over the other's face and I joined in laughing with Donald.

Goofy and Sora started laughing too and pretty soon we were all on a laughing heap on the floor. I wiped a tear from my eye and stood up while Donald pulled out his wand. With a downward sweep of his arm the doodles were erased.

After applying sunscreen and packing lots of water to quiet Donald down, (I assume since he's a duck he was fairly worried about water amount in the desert) he pressed a button and the Gummi Ship started a decent down to the desert world.

***KH***

The man holding a golden staff shaped like a snake was walking through the town's streets with a cloaked witch, also holding her own scepter. They strode calmly through the abandoned part of the town's streets as they finished their conversation.

"And the Keyhole?" The witch asked, without turning to face her companion. The man gave a smile as he stroked his twisted beard "The Heartless are searching for it now. I'm certain we'll find it soon enough." He replied with an accented voice.

"So that just leaves…" He was interrupted as a brightly colored parrot squawked loudly a swirled down to settle on the man's shoulder. "Jafar! I've looked _everywhere_ for Jasmine." It panted "She's disappeared like magic!"

The man, presumably Jafar, scoffed at the bird perched on his shoulder. "The girl is more trouble than she's worth."

The witch retained a calm facial expression but the angered tone of her voice revealed otherwise "You said you had things under control."

"Agrabah is full of holes for rats to hide in." Jafar spat out. "But why worry about Princess Jasmine?" The witch remained quiet so Jafar assumed she was waiting to hear a point in his conversation. "With her or without her, surely this world will be ours when we find the Keyhole."

"We need the Pure Heart to open the final door. But before we can do that, we need all seven princesses of heart to reveal the door. Any fewer is useless." Her voice held a hint of exasperation, as if she had already explained this to him.

"Well, if the princess is that important, we'll find her." He turned and seemed to speak to the air "Find Jasmine and bring her to me at once." Suddenly Heartless with shawls covering their faces and large curved swords appeared from dark portals, as if on request from the man.

The parrot cackled then with a flap of his wings he launched himself into the air and started flying off. The Heartless swished their swords and followed after him.

"Don't steep yourself in darkness too long." The witch warned Jafar who was walking after the parrot also "The Heartless consume the careless." The man paused to laugh at this "Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary." And with that he strode off.

Unbeknownst to them, the princess they were searching for was just a little ways off, crouching behind a vendors stall. She raised a hand to cover her mouth in shock from all the information she had gained from their conversation.

***KH***

"Whew! This place is hot!" I waved my hands towards my face attempting to fan some cool air. But the wind was hot and did nothing to dry the sweat forming on my forehead.

"You said it!" Sora had taken his jacket off and was waving it around his head and shoulders. Donald nodded his head in agreement, casting a small blizzard at his face while Goofy used his shield as a fan.

We were walking through the streets of the desert town dodging the people as they hurried to get to unknown destinations. They all looked more accustomed to the heat then we did, that's for sure.

A man carrying a goat gave us a funny look as we walked past, giving us a final glance before turning his head. "Gawrsh, do ya think we're attractin' too much attention?" Goofy muttered, placing his shield behind his back.

"Nah, I'm sure lots of weird people travel through here." Sora waved a hand in dismissal of Goofy's idea. "I don't know, we seem to be getting a lot of stares. Our clothes must look strange to them." I tugged at my shirt. This seemed to worry Donald "Just don't talk to anyone." He ordered.

"Hey mister, the one with the spikey hair!" Sora paused then turned to the man behind a wooden vendor's cart who had called him out. The man nodded and gave a wide smile, showing he was missing a few teeth "Would you like to buy a pretty necklace for your pretty lady?" He gestured to me, causing me to flush and take a step back.

Before Sora could respond Donald jumped up and grabbed his ear then tugged him away "I just said don't talk to anyone!" Sora yelped and stooped so Donald wouldn't pull his ear too hard "I didn't! He talked to me!"

Goofy and I laughed and followed them into a part of the street where nobody had set up shops. I froze when I saw a flash of blue behind the crates. "Hey guys…" I pointed to the wooden boxes and they all turned to look.

"W-Who's there?" A shy and gentle voice asked from behind the crates. "Hello?" A woman dressed in a blue garment native to this world stood up and looked towards us.

"Hey." Sora waved "We aren't going to rob you or anything so you can come out. What's your name?" The girl didn't seem very convinced, but she stepped out from behind the boxes anyways. Her thick black hair, which cascaded down her back in a large braid, swished as she stepped out from behind her hiding place.

"I'm Jasmine. My father is the sultan." She spoke with an air of authority, as if to warn us if we did anything to her we would suffer the consequences.

"Uh…" Goofy looked at her closely "So that makes you a princess!" He declared. I lowered my voice to speak to Donald "Should we bow or something?" Donald's face scrunched up and he shook his head.

Sora crossed his arms "So why are you hiding?" Jasmine frowned "My father has been deposed by Jafar, who know controls the city."

"Jafar?" Goofy seemed to ask. Jasmine's face was suddenly overcome with confusion "You haven't heard of him?" Donald tensed. "W-We're fairly new here!" I spluttered.

She lifted an eyebrow but didn't ask any further questions. "He's the royal vizier. He's gained evil powers and seized Agrabah."

"Evil powers? Sounds like Heartless." I whispered to Sora. He nodded and his face turned grave "Where is this Jafar man?"

"He's desperately looking for something-something he calls the 'Keyhole'." Yep, defiantly Heartless.

"Jafar caught me trying to escape, but _he_ helped me." Her eyes lit up as she said that. "Who helped you?" Sora asked.

Jasmine was too lost in thought to hear him though "We were hiding nearby, but he left a while ago to take care of something…" She sighed "Oh, I hope Aladdin's all right."

"Aladdin?" A voice echoed through the small area and Jasmine tensed. "Where might I find this street rat?" We looked up to see a man with a twisted beard smiling down at us. It was not a friendly smile.

"Jasmine, allow me to find you more suitable company, my dear princess." He put heavy sarcasm on the dear princess. "These little street rats won't do, you see." A dark aura flared around him and I summoned the Heartblade "High alert Sora." I muttered.

He nodded and summoned the Keyblade then took a fighting stance "Jasmine, run!" Jasmine didn't hesitate and bolted into the crowded streets. "Ah, the boy who holds the key and the Pure Heart." Jafar waved his hand and Heartless suddenly jumped out of portals and landed beside us.

He sneered then walked away, following Jasmine. The Heartless lifted their curved swoards above their heads, and then flipped themselves forward. Their speed and strength propelled them forward and I swooped the Heartblade in an upward ark to deflect the sharp sword.

The Heartless jumped back and twirled the sword then spun towards me. I charged towards it also and our blades clashed together. I kicked upward forcefully and the sword flew up in the air. The Heartless looked up in surprise and I took the moment to run it through with the Heartblade.

I looked around and saw that the boys had taken care of the three other Heartless. "Well I would go after Jasmine, but I don't think we'll be able to find her in that crowd." Sora sighed, then looked up to where Jafar was standing moments before.

"Hey, look there's a keyhole up there!" He jumped up on a box then pulled himself up and pointed his Keyblade at the small keyhole. He jabbed forward quickly and a grinding sound was heard on the other platform and Sora smiled.

"Sora is getting smart!" Donald sniffed and Goofy chuckled while I laughed. Sora hopped down to shove us lightly. We all jumped up on the platform to the door that was now open for access.

We stepped though and found we were above the crowded streets below. "Well this is useful!" Goofy said as he peered at the people walking by.

We leapt from sheets to sheet above the shops till we found a door that had the words 'Aladdin's House' carved into the stone on the outside. "Maybe she's in here guys." I pointed inside then up when I saw the way in the house was a long wooden pole impaled in the ground.

We climbed up and emerged in a rather run down looking room with an amazing view of the ginormous palace in the distance. "Jasmine…" I whispered, peering behind a crate. I jumped back quickly as something snapped up at me.

I squeaked in surprise to see a carpet struggling beneath it. "You guys, look at this!" I shouted and pointed at the moving carpet. They all ran over to examine the carpet with me. Sora seemed to be the only one with enough sense to realize the carpet was pinned beneath the crate.

He pushed aside the crate and the carpet zoomed around the room then stopped in front of him. It bowed slightly, as if thanking him, and then flew out the hole in the wall, waving towards us then in a certain direction.

"Come on, let's follow it!" Sora leapt out of the hole. I gasped and ran over to see him fall on a sheet and bounce off onto the ground below.

Donald, Goofy, and I jumped out of the wall and bounced off onto the ground beside Sora. I laughed "We should do that again!" Donald waved his feathered hand "Later!" "Yeah, later…of course!" I agreed.

We followed the path of the carpet to the outside walls of Agrabah. As we stepped outside, my feet immediately sunk into the soft sand of the desert. The warm winds blew my hair back as I peered up into the sky to watch the carpet glide down towards us.

It paused in front of us, and then flipped upright. Sora tilted his head as the carpet gestured to its back then to us then towards the dark part of the desert. Storm clouds were gathering around that area only, the rest of the desert was bathed in the warm light of the sun.

"You know, I think he's tryin' to tell us something!" Goofy declared. The carpet pointed to Goofy then flew around us and stooped down to press against our feet.

"I think it wants to bring us to the dark part of the desert." I pointed out the area the carpet gestured to before. "All aboard then!" Sora hopped on and patted the room behind him.

We all scooted onto the carpet, not much personal space between the four of us, and it rose slowly into the sky then flew off quickly.

The carpet quickly flew to the storm clouds then began to circle over the area. I gasped when I saw a figured struggling in quicksand. The carpet hovered over the sand then bumped us off in the direction of the despairing figure.

I rolled to a stop and spat san out of my mouth then quickly scrambled to my feet. Sora had already started towards the figure but he stopped when the sand in front of him began moving.

Suddenly the sand scattered in a small explosion as the Bandit Heartless from Agrabah suddenly emerged from the sand swinging their swords around.

Sora leapt back and summoned the Keyblade then rammed it into the Heartless in front of him. I heard Donald quack in surprise and turned to see the tip of his tail fathered had been sliced of by one of the Heartless.

We all paused, including the Heartless, to watch the white feathers float to the ground. Donald started breathing heavily and his face slowly turned red. Goofy held up his shield while Sora and I took a large step back.

Donald screamed in rage then started casting a wild frenzy of blizzard spells all around. The Heartless scattered and tried to dodge the spells but each one was hit and frozen to the spot.

"Blizzard blizzard blizzard!" Donald cried, swiping his wand through the air. I threw myself to the ground beside Sora as a burst of cold brushed against my ear.

Sora started laughing as I rubbed my frozen ear. But we both snapped to attention when we heard a cry for help coming from the sand pit.

Sora paled when he realized we forgot the person stuck in the quick sand. We hurried over and looked down to see a man sinking lower into the sand. He had stopped struggling and had only one hand and his head above the sand.

"Gawrsh, not again!" Goofy gasped. We whipped around to see a lot more Heartless surrounding us, not seeming happy about their frozen comrades.

I held the Heartblade's handle down to the man and he grasped it with his one hand, the other stuck beneath the sand. As I pulled, his other hand had surfaced from the sand and in it was a golden lamp.

He rubbed it then held it up into the air quickly "Genie, get rid of these guys!" Blue smoke curled out of the lamp until a figured appeared and started stretching. A blue genie with golden cuffs around his wrists was smiling widely down at us.

"Wish Number One, coming right up!" He shouted. We watched in awe as the Genie snapped his fingers and all the Heartless disappeared just as suddenly as they had shown up. I nudged Donald "Why can't you do that?"

***KH***

"I see…Thanks you guys." Aladdin said as we finished telling our story "Aladdin, what're you doing out here?" Sora asked, eyeing the barren landscape.

"Same old stuff. Hunting legendary treasure." He gave an arrogant smile "Just paid a visit to the Cave of Wonders." I looked to Donald when I heard a chuckle and saw his eyes were large and he was smiling widely while rubbing his hands together in the prospect of treasure. I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to Aladdin.

"I found that carpet." He pointed to the carpet that had brought us to Aladdin and it swooped down to nuzzle me. Aladdin pulled something out in front of him and held it up for us to see. The sun glinted off a dull golden lamp in the palm of his hands. "And this lamp." He added.

"Legend has it that whoever holds the lamp can summon the-" He broke off as the Genie jumped in front of him with an eager expression "Please, kid, leave the intros to a professional. The one the only _Genie of the lamp_!"

He zipped around and my eyes had a hard time following his erratic movements, but I smiled at his enthusiasm. "Rub-a-dub-dub the lamp and have your dearest wishes granted." He ducked down to Aladdin then covered him in confetti and sparkles. "Today's winner is…Aladdin!"

"Congratulations!" He grabbed Aladdin's hand and shook it vigorously up and down. Donald started chuckling again "Any wish?" Genie shook his hand in Donald's face, causing him to jump back. "Patience, my fine, feathered friend!" The Genie struck a dramatic pose "Any _three_ wishes!"

Suddenly there were three Genies all holding up three fingers "A one wish, a two wish, a three wish. Then I make like a banana and split!" I giggled and whispered to Sora "I like this guy." causing the Genie to smile down at us.

"Although there are a few exceptions, such as I cannot force anyone to fall in love with you, but you two seem to be fine without my help eh?" He winked and I blushed and gave Sora an embarrassed smile, which he returned. I felt a flutter in my stomach but quickly beat it back down with my mind. _He's your best friend!_ I told myself sternly.

The Genie disappeared and popped up beside Aladdin "Our lucky winner made his first wish-" He ducked beside Sora and put up a hand to whisper not so secretly "And let me tell you, what a doozy that wish was-"

The Genie then duplicated himself and stood back to back with his clone "So he has two left!" Both the Genies exploded into a burst of color and reappeared beside Aladdin "So, master, what'll you have for Wish Number Two?" A spotlight descended onto Aladdin, who seemed slightly unnerved from all the attention and energy the Genie was putting on him.

Aladdin thought for a moment, hand on chin, till his eyes lit up with an idea "How about making me a fabulously wealthy prince?"

The Genie laughed, causing us to chuckle along with him. This guy's attitude was super contagious. "Oooh! Money! Royalty! Fame! Why didn't I think of that?"

He flew around us "Okay, you asked for it! A hundred servants and a hundred camels loaded with gold!" He bow then straightened "Just say the word and I'll deliver it in 30 minutes or less, or your meal's free!" He held up his hand to his ear as if it was a telephone.

"Hey I'll even throw in a cappuccino!" Aladdin waved his hands and laughed "No thanks." The Genie shrugged "Okay." He started to reach his arms up but paused when Aladdin held up a hand to stop him.

"I think I'll put that on hold till we reach Agrabah." The Genie nodded and put his hands down. "Uh, why a prince?" Goofy asked.

Aladdin smiled fondly and fumbled over his words "You see, there's a girl in Agrabah named Jasmine…"

"Ooooh!" I nudged him and he blushed lightly. "But she's a princess, and I'm…" He paused and hung his head. "Aw, she could never fall for a guy like me."

Sora and I were about to cheer him up when I suddenly realized who he was crushing on. And who we totally forgot about.

"Oh. Princess?" Donald said, also catching on and looking to Goofy to see if he followed. "Jasmine?" Goofy finished looking to Donald.

Sora's eyes widened "Oh, that's right! She's in trouble, Aladdin!" Aladdin looked shocked "What! Well, c'mon, let's get going!" He hopped onto the carpet and we all crowed on after him. The carpet seemed to slow to make sure none of us fell off, for which I was thankful.

As we zoomed back to Agrabah the Genie stretched beside us "Ah, fresh air!" He sighed happily and took a deep breath "The great outdoors!"

Sora turned to look at him "I guess you don't get out much, huh?" The Genie shrugged "Comes with the job. Phenomenal cosmic powers. Itty-bitty living space. It's always three wishes, then back to my portable prison."

I felt a twinge of pity for Genie, he seemed so nice, he didn't deserve that. "Not even just a tiny break? You can't come out at all?"

The Genie shook his head "Not unless a new master finds my lamp and summons me. I'm lucky to see the light of day every century or two…"

It was quiet after that, everybody thinking of something to say in response to cheer him up. Aladdin perked up suddenly "Say, Genie, what if I used my last wish to free you from the lamp?" He turned to Genie "What do you think?"

The Genie's smile, if possible widened "You'd do that?" Aladdin nodded "Genie, it's a promise. After we help Jasmine."

The carpet flew to Agrabah as quick as it could with all five of us on its back. When it reached the city's entrance Aladdin patted it on the back "God job carpet, you take a good rest okay?"

The carpet nodded and sunk down onto the sandy floor, grateful to finally take a rest. We ran inside the city and were immediately greeted by a small army of Heartless.

A large rather round Heartless glared down at us with beady eyes. It drew back then spewed a jet of fire at us. I yelped in surprise as the fire caught my shirt and I cast a hasty blizzard on myself.

When I looked down I realized I had frozen my hand to the Heartblade. I sighed but continued to fight against the Heartless. When the Heartless were gone I dismissed the blade, leaving behind a curled up hand.

I chuckled at my predicament and thought about sticking my tongue to it as well before seeing that the guys had already run on without me. When I ran to the next area I saw they were climbing the pole that led to the place we found the carpet.

I pulled myself up then rubbed my hand furiously against my skin trying to thaw it. Sora turned and laughed at me then walked over and took my hand. "Err…what are doing?" I asked becoming a little flustered.

He chuckled then started rubbing my hand between his "What does it look like? I'm thawing your frozen hand." He stopped and held up my hand. I flexed my fingers and he nodded, proud of his work. As I examined my palm, I felt the twinge of familiarity. I picked up his hand and pressed it against mine again and the feeling grew.

I looked up to Sora and tilted my head when I saw his eyes were slightly glazed over. I looked to our connected hands, then back to his eyes. I pulled my hand away and watched as his eyes slowly came back into focus on me, while the sense of familiarity faded.

Sora shook his head slightly then smiled slightly at me. He glanced at his hand then climbed up after the guys. I looked at my hand once more then climbed up also.

When I climbed up to the room I saw the guys looking out towards the palace. "So, Jafar is after Jasmine and this 'Keyhole.'" Aladdin asked. We nodded but Genie seemed to be deep in thought. "Keyhole, eh? I could swear I've heard about that somewhere before…"

We turned a hopeful glance to him. "Really? Where?" The Genie dipped his head to think "Now, where was it? It's only been 200 years…"Donald groaned "Oh! We're never going to find it like that!"

"Well, anyways, we've got to stop Jafar before it's too late!" Sora said, clenching his fist in a determined pose. We all nodded, and then jumped out of the hole in the wall that bounced us down onto the main streets.

Nobody but the desperate vendors willing to risk their lives against the Heartless that swarmed the city was on the streets now however. It felt ominous and weird.

We took care of the Heartless along the streets as we looked around for Jasmine. I peeked inside a pot "Hello? Princess Jasmine?" Aladdin sighed at my antics and looked to the sky "Where can she be?"

"Hey guys!" Sora waved down at us from a ledge "I found another lock! I saw a gated door out on the main street, let's go check it out!" He leapt down and landed crouched like a cat. "Nice landing!" Goofy laughed.

Sora looked up and pointed to an open passage way that was indeed covered in a grating before. When we all walked through, I looked far down to see we had finally reached the palace walls.

I heard Aladdin gasp and I looked in front of the huge doors to the palace courtyard to see Jafar cornering Jasmine.

Sora quietly led us down the sheets and we bounced onto the floor. Goofy lost his balance and crashed to the floor and we winced as Jafar turned around.

"Setting your sights a little high, aren't you, boy?" He glared at us. "Back to your hole, street rat. I will not allow you to trouble the princess anymore."

"Jasmine!" Aladdin cried out. "I'm so sorry, Aladdin." She whimpered, taking a step forward. Jafar blocked her advance with an outstretched arm and she shrunk back.

Aladdin started rubbing the lamp behind his back and whispering "Genie, help Jasmine. Please!"

Genie popped up behind Jasmine and picked her up. Jafar turned around in shock as Genie started floating away "One wish left! You're making this really easy, you know."

I smirked at Jafar but I blinked when I saw he was also smiling "So sorry, boy. I'm afraid your second wish has been denied."

We looked to see a brightly colored parrot flying towards Jafar with Genie's lamp in his claws. Aladdin pulled his hands from behind his back and gasped in surprise when he saw the lamp wasn't there.

"W-When did that happen?" I shook my head, not noticing when the parrot snagged the lamp. The parrot dropped the lamp in Jafar's hand and Genie hung his head "I'm sorry, Al." He poofed away and Jasmine fell from his arms into a clay pot. The pot turned into a Heartless, sealing Jasmine inside.

"And now, I bid you all farewell. Attack!" Jafar somehow disappeared and the pots surrounding us cracked open. Parts of what looked like a giant centipede started hopping around, trying to connect to one another.

I looked around in a panic, hearing Jasmine's plea for help but not knowing where it was coming from. Aladdin was ignoring the bug Heartless and smashing holes in pots yelling Jasmine's name out.

"Come on Sora, let's beat this Heartless!" I took a defensive stance with the Heartblade, pushing it forward to block the insect's pinchers. It seemed agitated by this and whipped its antenna at me leaving a red mark across my arm.

The head of the centipede scooted back and connected with a pot, which sprouted legs and attached with another pot, then with its back end.

Donald growled with frustration and used thunder to smash the pots. The Heartless didn't seem to like that and spun itself to whip Goofy with its antennas. Goofy put his shield up quickly "Gawrsh!" he yelped. "Don't flinch, Goofy!" Donald shouted, casting thunder again.

I heard Jasmine's cry for help once again and started looking around widely. Aladdin seemed to be in a frenzy, smashing pots with his sword and peering in the holes then kicking the pot when he discovered nothing was inside.

The Heartless had joined with more pots and its back started whipping around antennas infused with dark power that left a stinging mark across your skin. I started attacking the head and it snapped out at me, then I stabbed the Heartblade in its mouth and used blizzard.

It made a choking sound and I pulled the Heartblade out quickly then leaped away. The Heartless clacked its pinchers together once before a layer of ice covered them. The ice traveled to its face and Sora swung his Keyblade, shattering the head.

It seemed that whatever happened to the front, also happened to the back. The back of the Heartless paused then dropped to the ground and froze. Goofy rammed into it with his shield and it burst into pieces.

Its heart floated up and I watched it glitter in the hot desert sun before jumping back when Aladdin nearly ran me over.

His hands had little cuts that were oozing blood as he looked around for more pots to smash "Jasmine!" He cried out once more but her whimpers had fallen silent.

An evil cackle sounded throughout the area and we all snapped to attention, holding up our weapons. "To the desert!" Aladdin shouted running towards the main street. "Come on let's move!"

***KH***

The carpet dove down to the area we first found Aladdin and we jumped up, our weapons at the ready. The only sound was the howling of the wind and the crunch of the sand below our feet.

I held up my Heartblade and advanced forward then gasped as the ground started to rumble. Sora held his arms out and backed us up as a large dark figure slowly rose up out of the sand.

Dust clouds filled the space as what looked like a stone tiger head opened its mouth and started breathing heavily. I peered inside its mouth and saw stairs leading down into the ground. "This must be the Cave of Wonders."

Aladdin squinted his eyes "There's something wrong with it…" We all looked up to it and I saw a dark aura blazing around its eyes "It's being controlled by the Heartless!" I yelped in shock as it craned its neck up and shook its head, scattering darkness over the area.

Where the darkness struck the ground, Heartless appeared and the tiger head gave a throaty growl of approval. It lowered itself to glare at us and I took this opportunity to jump onto its muzzle.

I stabbed the eye blazing with the dark aura and it started to glow brighter. I yelped and slipped back as it shot a dark blast at me. Lucky for me the sand broke my fall…sort of. I glanced up at the eyes and saw that the eye I stabbed was glowing yellow instead.

Sora pulled himself onto the tiger's muzzle as it dipped its head down. But this time it seemed to be eating the sand around it. I tilted my head up, but fell to the ground as the head raised and blew out all the sand. The little sand pebbles made cuts everywhere and I ran behind Goofy, who was holding his shield up.

"That didn't feel good." Donald coughed out sand and cast heal on everyone. I looked towards the head and saw Aladdin had joined Sora in attacking the remaining eye. They both jabbed their blades into the eyes and the darkness faded.

The tiger lowered its jaw to the ground, revealing the cave entrance once again. Sora jumped down, while Aladdin wasted no time and swung right into the cave's mouth. "Come on, Jafar had to have taken Jasmine here!" He shouted over his shoulder.

We trekked through the many rooms of the Cave of Wonder, glancing at all the treasures that were pilled throughout the cave. Donald was eyeing the treasures and laughing to himself quietly while Goofy walked beside him, watching closely to make sure he didn't take any.

"So, Aladdin," I looked over at his determined face "How'd you meet Jasmine anyways?" Despite the determined face he held, his eyes softened. "Well, I saw her when I was err…getting breakfast one morning. She was walking through the streets of Agrabah and my heart stopped when I saw her face."

I sighed "That's sweet Aladdin." He nodded and his mouth twitched up in a small smile "She had no street experience what so ever. I had to save her from an angry merchant."

I chuckled at that image but paused when I saw everyone else had grown quiet. I strained to hear what they were listening to and picked up the faint voice of Jafar.

Sora pointed down a hallway and glanced at us the made a bunch of weird hand motions. Donald slapped his forehead and walked past Sora along with Aladdin. I laughed quietly at his attempt to talk to us with signals and he shot me a pouty glare.

We quietly peered into a large cavern and saw Jafar holding Genie's lamp, while Genie himself had his head hung down low. I frowned to see the Genie in such low spirits.

Aladdin tensed when he saw Jasmine lying motionless beside Jafar, and Sora gasped when he saw who Jafar was talking to.

A tall ominous cloaked figure was holding a scepter and standing in front of the Keyhole. "That boy again?" She scoffed. Her voice sent chills down my spine and a dark feeling made me step closer to Sora.

"He's more persistent then I expected." Jafar admitted. "Why not explain the situation to that boy Riku?" I heard Sora gasp and before I could stop him he ran out into the cavern, Aladdin following right behind him.

"Doing so may actually prove useful to our-" Jafar paused and whipped around when he heard us run into the area. The cloaked women stared right at me and I slowed my advance as warning signs flared wildly in my mind.

"Wait a second." Sora stepped forward. "Are you Maleficent?" Without removing her gaze from mine, she smiled then faded away.

"Jafar, let Jasmine go!" Aladdin demanded fiercely. "Not a chance." Jafar said coolly. "You see, she's a princess-one of seven who somehow hold the key to revealing the door-" He paused and pointed to me. "The door she must open."

"Open…" Goofy turned to look at me. "…the door?" Donald finished, also turning to look at me. I gave a confused shrug and they blinked.

"But you fools won't live to see what lies beyond it." Jafar gave us his not so friendly smile. "Genie! My second wish. Crush them, but only harm the girl if you must!"

Genie, his head hung and his eyes closed, started floating towards us. "That's a stupid wish!" I yelled. "Don't listen to him, Genie!" Sora added.

"You heard me." Jafar pointed towards the guys. "I command you to teach them what _pain _is." "Genie, no!" Aladdin gave a strangled cry and held his arms out.

"Sorry, Al. The one with the lamp calls the shots…" Genie gave a depressed sigh. "I don't have a choice." Jafar raised his staff and pointed it upwards. A sheet of light flashed in front of the Keyhole and the exit, showing we were now blocked in.

"Get Jafar!" Aladdin cried, jumping at Jafar with his sword pointed at Jafar's face. Jafar deflected the attack and swung his staff at Aladdin.

I was about to jump in and help when a blast of lightening knocked me and Sora off our feet and onto the stone floor. "I'm really sorry about that, run!" Genie cried, closing his eyes and sending another bolt in a random direction.

Unfortunately that random bolt landed on Goofy and he yelped loudly. "So sorry!" Genie pointed at Goofy and suddenly he was in a hospital bed, all bandaged up.

"Genie that's just a slap on the wrist!" Jafar spat out, and Aladdin paused then punched Jafar's face. Jafar wiped his mouth and floated away quickly, muttering words under his breath.

Suddenly a vicious ice storm swirled around the area, knocking Aladdin down and forcing us to our knees. "Fire!" I yelled, pointing the Heartblade up. Sora and Donald both cast fire also and all the ice melted.

Jafar seemed to think that was amusing, and made his staff catch fire. He then swung this down at our heads. Donald cast blizzard on his staff and the flames were put out with a sizzle.

Jafar floated away again, but I threw the Heartblade at his head and knocked him down to the ground. Genie blasted another lightning bolt above our heads and we ducked down to avoid it then ran towards the stunned Jafar.

He stumbled up some, but Sora threw the Keyblade and knocked him back down. Jafar gave a shout of pain then electricity surrounded him and he sunk into the ground.

I blinked "Well that was…interesting." Sora muttered his agreement. Sora then turned to see if Aladdin had any comments on that exit but he was running up to Jasmine, who was still lying by the Keyhole.

We were about to reach down and see if she was okay, when suddenly Jafar's voice rang out behind us. "Genie! My final wish!" We swung around to see Jafar was floating in the air, holding Genie's lamp.

"I want you to make me an all-powerful genie!" Genie winced and covered his eyes then aimed a shaking finger at Jafar. A little colorful burst of power shot from his fingertip and surrounded Jafar.

We all backed up as the entire floor collapsed in front of us, Jafar's enlarging body sinking down into the chasm filled with hot lava.

Aladdin gave a despairing glance back towards Jasmine before looking back towards the boiling hot lava filled evil infested chasm Jafar created. Yeah, staying with your unconscious girlfriend seemed a lot more appealing than the second option.

He sighed and Sora shook his shoulders "Hey, she'll be okay; it's Jafar we have to worry about now." I nodded in agreement and Aladdin turned his head towards the chasm.

"It's okay to jump." Donald looked down and squinted "I can stop our fall with aero." One by one we jumped down into the new arena. I looked back at the unconscious Jasmine, feeling a twinge of unease at leaving her here before jumping into the pit as well.

I felt the air around me push up as I descended slowly onto the stone, setting my feet down and holding my arms out to steady myself. Sora looked back at me but we all snapped to attention as the lava burst behind us. We scattered as it splatted onto the stone making a loud sizzling sound.

A very unfriendly non-squishy genie was smirking down at us with his arms crossed. Jafar's parrot flew by us with a new lamp held in his claws. It was all black and looked rather sinister. "The lamp!" Aladdin shouted "Get Jafar's lamp!"

The parrot was panting heavily already "Is it hot in here or is it just me?" He croaked. We pulled ourselves onto the moving platforms to where he was and the parrot squawked in alarm. "Evasive maneuvers!" He shouted, erratically flying in a zigzag pattern.

I cast blizzard, but it melted before ever hitting the bird. I cursed and jumped up to try and hit him with the Heartblade. But Sora pulled me down and behind the stone platform before my hit could land.

A giant flaming rock flew over our heads and I blinked when I realized it could have squashed me flat. "Now we're even." He said shaking my hand. I remembered killing the leopard before it could claw Sora's face and I smiled. "Oh I have a feeling this won't be for long."

I saw the corner of his mouth twitch up in a smile before he flipped off the platform and ran after the parrot. Donald cast a spell on Sora and he was surrounded by a small torrent of wind.

He leapt up and started attacking the lamp, hovering in place because of Donald's wind spell. The parrot screamed and flapped away as one of Sora's swings almost nailed him in the beak.

Jafar threw another massive rock at us and we all jumped away, careful to cover our heads in case a stray piece hurtled towards us. I cautiously lifted my head a peered around for the parrot. He was furiously flapping his wings, which were singed slightly from the rock and bursts of lava.

I leaped up and snagged the lamp from his lax claws then threw it to the ground and blasted it with blizzard. Sora cast blizzard also and we successfully froze the lamp. Genie Jafar was slowing down and glared down at us when he stopped completely.

Sora kicked the frozen lamp to dislodge it from the ground then held it up "Okay, Jafar! Back to your lamp!" The Genie Jafar was covered by a swirling magic as it sucked him into the lamp. Sora smirked "Like your new home?"

"Phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space." I chuckled. A piece of paper fluttered down and landed on Sora's face. He removed it and looked at it curiously before his eyes widened. "This is…part of Ansem's report!"

Then Sora and I were suddenly tackled by a bubbly group of friends. Genie appeared over us smiling widely "That was soooo savvy!"

Donald smiled and laid a feather hand on Sora's shoulder "I had no idea could use your brain!" Sora twitched and turned to stare at the duck "What did you say?"

We all chuckled and climbed onto the carpet, which spiraled up to the Keyhole. As we stepped onto the platform I immediately noticed something was wrong. "Uh…where's Jasmine?" Goofy whispered.

Aladdin looked incredulously at the empty spot where Jasmine lay unconscious moments before "Jasmine?" He looked around, eyes growing frantic "Jasmine!"

Sora looked at me then gestured to the Keyhole. His eyes were sad and we both felt for Aladdin but business was business. Sora lifted the Keyblade and I summoned the Heartblade. They both glowed and Sora shot a beam of light into the Keyhole.

A bright light glowed around the Keyhole, and continued to shine brighter as it swirled into it. A loud clicking sound echoed throughout the cavern and a wall of light covered the Keyhole and slowly solidified into stone. Sora nodded his head "That should do it."

But suddenly the ground started shaking violently and rocks started falling from the ceiling. "Whoa, we'd better get out of here!" Goofy shouted, holding his shield above his head.

"Everyone jump onto the carpet!" I tugged on Sora's wrist and pushed the guys towards the carpet. "Aladdin, hurry!" Sora held out his hand to the hesitating Aladdin. "But Jasmine…"

"Jasmine was taken to another world!" Sora shouted. We all froze, including Aladdin. Sora's eyes widened but he yanked Aladdin on, bumping me back, causing me to bump into Donald, causing Goofy to…

"Uh-oh!" Goofy yelped as he fell towards the boiling lava. "Goofy!" We all shouted in shock. "Genie! Please save him!" Aladdin shouted.

"That's your second wish." Genie said, aiming his finger at Goofy. "I know!" Aladdin said exasperated.

Goofy stopped an inch above the hot lava then floated back onto the carpet. "Thank you Aladdin. I thought I was a goner…" Aladdin merely nodded and continued looking into the distance gloomily.

***KH***

Donald was still holding his death glare at Sora. "H-Hey…it just slipped out of my mouth…" Sora laughed nervously. "Please, take me with you to this different world!" Aladdin pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but we can't. That's just the way it is." Donald frowned. "It would be meddling too much." I added. Aladdin hung his head "…Oh well, I guess you have your own reasons."

"Poor thing…" Goofy muttered. "Aladdin we'll find Jasmine. I promise." Sora blurted out. Goofy reached for his hat, containing the list of things we had to find.

"Uh, earth to Al. Hello?" Genie placed a hand on Aladdin's shoulder and shook him "You still have one wish left." Aladdin still didn't pick up his head.

"Look, just say the word. Ask me to find Jasmine for you." Aladdin tilted his head up slightly "I…I wish…" We all leaned forward as he stood up. "…for your freedom, Genie."

Genie froze with a look of pure shock on his face. "Al!" Genie watched in fascination as a swirl of magic unlocked the golden cuffs on his arms and gave him legs as a sign of his freedom. "Why, Al…?"

"Hey. A deal's a deal, Genie." Aladdin smiled up at Genie "Now you can go anywhere you want. You're your own master." Genie looked towards Aladdin "I never thought you actually meant that…" I smiled at the scene unfolding in front of us.

He rushed forward and gave Aladdin a crushing hug. "You're my best friend!" After a couple seconds Genie still didn't let go and I laughed "We'll find Jasmine." I nodded. "So hold on tight!"

Genie turned to us and handed Sora his old lamp "Here, take this." We looked up at him with confusion. "I broke free from the lamp's spell…but you can rub this lamp anytime you need my help."

"I want to help rescue my best friend's girlfriend!" Genie laughed as Aladdin blushed lightly. We smiled and nodded "Of course!"

***KH***

"That smarmy vizier could've had 'em-" Hades glared at the boy beside him "If someone had stuck around to give him a hand." "Hey, I did my part." Riku glared back. "I brought the princess, didn't I?"

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred." Maleficent blinked calmly at the two bickering males, a cold glint in her eye showing she had known the vizier was going to fail. "One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, okay?" Hades turned to Riku "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you." Riku turned to Maleficent slightly confused.

"We had a deal yes? You help us, and we grant you your wish…" An image appeared on the stone dial in the center of the room and Riku stepped eagerly forward "Kairi!"

"Go to her. Your vessel is waiting." Riku turned to the sound of boots to see a man with a long mustache and a hook as a hand. "Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage." He smirked.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" What's the catch?" Riku asked coldly. "Catch?" Maleficent turned around and smiled "What's the catch?" She walked forward "Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy."

She put her hand on Riku's cheek and he slapped it away. "I seriously doubt that." He smiled coldly. "Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain." Riku held her gaze for a moment, then turned and walked down the dark hallway.


	10. Chapter 10: Monstro

_Helloooo :D I'm sooooo sorry for the late update! I would give excuses but then I would seem lame ;n; Then I finished and went to post it *insert computer spaz/crash here*-_- Anyways! As usual I don't own any charries or places so on and so forth EXCEPT Akira! Yay for her!_

***KH***

Donald sighed loudly as he looked at our growing list of things to find "Great, now we have even _more_ things to find!" He threw his feathered hands into the air "Why don't we just put up a sign that says 'lost and found center'?"

Sora pouted "That's not funny…"

I sighed "But true." Goofy nodded his head and counted down the list with his pencil, making sure he didn't forget anything.

"We have other things to find, anyway…" I crossed my arms.

"Exactly!" Donald pointed at me "I'm about to forget what we're looking for in the first place!"

"Could this torn page be from Merlin's book?" Goofy suddenly stated, holding up a ripped page.

"Wait…when did you…?" Sora tilted his head, giving Goofy a quizzical look. Goofy just smiled and chuckled happily.

"Well I guess we should go back to Traverse Town and give it to him." I said while taking the paper and confirming it looked like a storybook page.

"We also have part of Ansem's report we need to show them." Sora held up the tattered and slightly burned paper.

Donald nodded "Alright, back to Traverse Town it is." He then set the coordinates for Traverse Town and yawned widely. Declaring he was going to sleep, he hopped down the ladder, followed closely by Goofy.

I turned to Sora, who yawned and stretched. "Well I'm beat, night Akira!" And with that he rushed off. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion at him but decided that I should probably be heading off to sleep as well. I took a last look around the cockpit then headed off to my room.

***KH***

My lungs were burning and my muscles were screaming for me to stop, but I dared not to. Another quick look behind me showed the darkness quickly following, swallowing all in its path.

Moving pictures flashed on the wall in the never-ending hallway and I stole glances at them with wild darting eyes.

_The blonde with sideswiped hair was holding the little girl's hand. Unheard words passed between them and the little girl giggled. She turned to hug the blonde, who blinked in surprise but then relaxed and place a comforting hand on her back._

I looked away from the scene and forced myself to run faster as the cold of darkness nipped at my heels. I looked around wildly for some means of escape, but found nothing but achingly familiar faces on the walls.

_A woman with short blue hair was staring in horror at the frozen boy in her arms. The little girl beside her was shaking as tears slid down her face. The frozen blonde's eyes darted back and forth between them and the blue hair women stifled a sob._

I gave a shout as I felt the darkness curl around my legs. My legs gave out on me and my vision was quickly engulfed in blackness. Squirming and screaming I tried to escape, but my endeavors were made in vain.

The dark stole the warmth from my body and my struggling slowed as well as my breathing. I heard a piercing scream as everything disappeared.

***KH***

Jolting awake, I sat up gasping and gripping the blankets tightly. I tossed the covers off me and leaped out of bed, summoning the Heartblade instinctively. However, there was nothing in my room unordinary and no sounds but my shallow breaths.

I jumped as my door opened and quickly dismissed my Heartblade just as Sora's head appeared in the doorway. He blinked in surprise when he saw me standing in the middle of the room then smiled widely.

"Hey, you're already awake!" He whispered, seemingly oblivious to my slightly sweat soaked shirt and wild eyes.

"Sora… what are you sneaking into my room for?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned.

"I'm not sitting through another two days of boredom." He gestured to the door. "I was getting you so we can check out the cockpit area and press random buttons."

I raised an eyebrow "Are you sure that's a good idea? What if we crash the ship again, I don't think we're close to any world."

He grinned evilly "Then I can test my skills as captain and maneuver us out of danger!"

I rolled my eyes at him and smoothed back my messy hair "Well Donald is going to find out and kill us but I'm in."

Sora fist pumped in success and led me out of my room.

We tip-toed to Donald and Goofy's room and I quietly opened the door. Peering my head inside I saw Donald half way off his bed snoring loudly. I snickered and closed the door then looked to Sora who was closing Goofy's door carefully. I gave him a thumbs up and he nodded.

We then ran up to the cockpit and looked around for Chip and Dale in case they were on guard duty. After seeing the cost was clear, Sora scaled the ladder quickly then pulled me up as well.

He then quickly ran over to the front of the ship and looked around, a finger on his chin. "Hmm…let's press…this one!" he pressed a finger to a small button and stepped back.

A small metal blade wiped across the glass in front of the driving seat twice causing me to laugh. "Nice you found the windshield wipers."

"Well then you pick one!" He moved back and let me step up. I looked at all the flashing buttons and levers and paused. He smirked at me "Not so easy to pick one out from all these huh?"

I gave all the buttons a critical look and slowly brought my finger down on a light blue one.

A light appeared outside the gummi ship that pointed out towards the inky blackness. Sora snorted "Headlights?" I face palmed and Sora stepped back up to examine all the buttons. His eyes landed on a particular one and his face broke into a devious grin.

"Sora…I don't think we should push that." I said, seeing where his eyes had landed. "The Do Not Press button seems like something you, oh I don't know, _don't want to press_."

He glanced back at me "Hey I know you want to know, as much as I do, what this button does."

I shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with that statement but tensed as his hand stretched out slowly. "Sora maybe we should-" I broke off as his hand slammed down onto the button.

Immediately lights started flashing and sirens blared all around us. Sora recoiled as if he had been struck and held his hand close. A sign flashed 'seatbelts on' and I scrambled for a seat. But before I could safely reach one, I was flown back against the wall.

I could feel myself being pushed into the wall as the Gummi Ship rocketed into insane speeds. Sora was laughing wildly and I turned my head with difficulty to see him with a wide goofy grin on his face.

I opened my mouth to tell him he was an idiot but all that came out was a yelp as the ship came to a sudden halt and I was thrown forward into a seat. I squeaked when Sora smashed into me from behind.

"That was…awesome." He groaned and I pushed him off then slid to the floor.

The door to the cockpit burst open as Donald's angry face appeared, causing me to scream in terror. Sora scrambled behind me and pushed me towards Donald "It was her fault! She made me do it!" I shot him an incredulous look and he gave me a sheepish smile.

Donald walked towards us with crossed arms and started tapping his foot. I backed up some and forced Sora to follow me. "It says_. Do. Not. Push_!" Donald yelled.

"Hey it's light speed!" Sora argued "Why can't we push it? It helps us reach worlds quickly!"

Donald shook his head and glared up at us "Because it wastes the Gummi Ship's energy and can get someone hurt!" He paused here and gestured to Goofy who was climbing into the cockpit with a dazed expression on his face.

"Oops…?" I shrugged.

Donald twitched "_Do not push_!"

The alarm signaling we were at a world rang and I looked up to see Traverse Town. "Well we're at Traverse Town now so let's just forget any of this ever happened, okay?"

Sora nodded hastily "Yeah I don't even remember why we're up here in our pajamas in the first place!" We both pushed past Donald and slid down the ladder to run to our rooms.

I got dressed quickly and ran back up to the cockpit, where Donald was sitting in the captain's seat glaring at Sora who was shifting in his seat uncomfortably. Goofy was holding ice to his head right beside him, seeming to think the whole thing was rather comical as usual. Donald glanced back to see I was there and started landing the ship near Merlin's house.

Merlin was sitting at the circular table in the middle of the room when we all walked in to his house. He glanced over and saw the piece of paper in Goofy's hand "Ah, I see you have found a piece from the book!" Goofy nodded. "Excellent excellent! Well as you know the book is over there," He gestured to a corner of the room "Just place it in and it'll mend itself."

Sora walked over to where the book was and took the torn page from Goofy. He then opened the book and started flipping through the left over pages. I placed a hand down when I saw faded out pictures flash by. Sora turned the page then placed it where the pictures matched the faded ones in the book "Look! It's a perfect fit…"

He trailed off as the book started glowing brightly. I shielded my eyes against the light and heard Donald's shocked cry then the light turned everything white.

When I opened my eyes I looked around and noticed the ground seemed a little flat. I bent down and rubbed it to find it was actually paper. The paper/ground had words and pictures sketched in with careful detail and I blinked when I realized it was the missing page we had found.

"Where are we?"

Spinning around I saw Sora had been put into the book as well.

"I think we got sucked into Merlin's magical ripped up book." I responded while stomping on the page.

"Well that's cool and all but how are we supposed to get out?" He walked to the corner of the book "Maybe we can turn the page!"

As he bent down to attempt to turn the page, I watched as one of the pictures rose from the page and started swaying slightly. "Oh wow it's a pop-up book!" I squealed and ran over to the little picture.

Sora abandoned his idea of turning the page and followed behind me. "It's a looks like a little stick house…" He walked towards it and I blinked when he disappeared. His head then reappeared as if he was leaning back "Hey, come on it leads to a meadow!"

His head vanished again and I walked towards the stick house cautiously. In a flash of light I was in a meadow like Sora said. Colorful flowers were dotted randomly in the grass and a giant log lay in the middle. And atop of that log was a chubby yellow bear wearing a red shirt.

It had a paw to his head and was tapping it in a rhythmic pattern against it, seeming to be mumbling under its breath.

As Sora and I walked closer the mumbling became louder "Think, think. Think, think…" Sora turned to give me a confused look and I shrugged.

Sora walked a little closer and ducked so he would be in the bear's line of vision "Hi there! What's wrong?"

The bear didn't raise his head to look at Sora "Nothing. Just thinking." He replied.

"Oh…" Sora trailed off not knowing what to say next.

I stepped up beside him, ducking also "Well, what are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking of how to say goodbye to Pooh." The bear's face creased in deep thought.

"Pooh?" Sora quirked an eyebrow.

The bear raised his head "Yes?"

I paused connecting the bear's reaction to the name being called and him answering. "Whoa hey wait a second. You're Pooh?"

I hopped up onto the log to sit next to the bear and Sora jumped up beside me. "Yes, I'm Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short. Who are you?" He looked at me then leaned over to view Sora.

"I'm Sora, and this is my friend, Akira." Sora answered him.

Pooh smiled "Oh. Hello, Sora and Akira. Have you come to say goodbye to Pooh, too?"

Sora shook his head and laughed slightly "Well, no. Why would we do that?"

"We've only just met after all!" I added.

"Because everyone's gone away." Pooh said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Well, we all lived here in the Hundred Acre Wood." Pooh looked off into the distance and smiled "And we'd take walks together, or play Pooh sticks…And every day I'd eat some honey."

"Sounds fun." I said.

Pooh nodded his head "It was. And speaking of honey…" His stomach growled and he rubbed it, a sad expression forming on his once thoughtful face "Just one smackeral would taste very good right now."

He sighed again "But now everyone's gone…All my friends and my favorite Hunny Tree too."

I turned to Sora to whisper "This is so sad!"

"Everyone must have gone away while I was napping, I think…" Pooh added.

Sora and I watched as he slid off the log and landed with a soft thud on the ground "So who knows? Maybe I shall end up going away somewhere as well." He placed a paw on his chin as we jumped off to stand beside him "But I wonder, how do I say goodbye to myself?"

He resumed the rubbing and tapping of his head "Think, think, think." I patted his head and he blinked and looked up as if he had forgotten we were there. "Oh, my tumbly is getting rather rumbly." And with that he walked off.

I giggled "Tumbly? What a cute little bear."

Sora tilted his head "I wonder where all his friends went." We walked after Pooh and ended up back on the main pop-up page.

As I glanced at all the faded and ripped out parts of the page, an idea dawned on me "Maybe they're all on the missing pages."

"That would make sense…" Sora nodded his head then suddenly pounded his fist into his open palm "So that makes it even more urgent to find the missing pages for Pooh!" He paused as another picture lazily rose up behind us.

"Hey, this must be Pooh's house!" Sora shouted then grabbed my hand and ran into the picture. Another flash of light passed, and this time we were in the woods on a trail that led to a large tree.

A small door was put where the tree met the ground. I looked around and saw a small log in front of a pile of sticks that looked like they were used for a fire. A creak behind me brought my attention to Sora who was entering the tree house, calling out Pooh's name quietly.

I followed after him and was pleasantly surprised to find the cutest small house inside. Pooh was in the middle of the floor with a rather large clay jar marked 'hunny'. His stomach growled loudly as he peered into the empty jar with a disappointed face.

"Oh, bother. There's no more honey left." He sighed and set the pot down as we joined him on the floor. "If only the Hunny Tree would visit…Then I could eat my fill." I shot Sora a sad look, feeling sorry for the chubby bear.

Pooh put the pot away and waddled into a chair then promptly fell asleep. I giggled quietly "Reminds me of you, Sora." Sora rolled his eyes and motioned me outside. We both paused when an owl greeted us with a raised wing.

"Let me guess," He hooted "You'd like to know what happens next."

Sora looked back at me with a confused face then turned back to the owl. The owl quirked an eyebrow and Sora nodded slowly "Uh...yeah I guess."

The owl chuckled "Unfortunately, some of the pages are missing, so I can't tell you yet."

I pouted "Aw come on! Cliff hanger books bother me!"

He just shook his head "The pages are scattered over many worlds. Would you find them for us?"

Sora nodded furiously "Of course!" The owl gave a satisfied smile and flew off.

"Well…I guess we should leave now." I nodded and looked around.

Sora tapped my shoulder "How exactly do we accomplish this?"

I was about to shrug my shoulders when a bright light blocked my view of Sora, I shielded my eyes and felt myself being shot into the air.

Donald's surprised quack greeted me, along with a thud as the book was dropped onto the floor. Sora and I were catapulted from the book, landing with a loud _thud _on the wooden floorboard.

I rubbed my head and glanced over at the book lying partly open on the floor "Oh, I get it!" I shook my head and scolded myself for not thinking of this earlier.

Sora turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "We can return after the story on the page we put in finishes." I explained.

He nodded "That also makes sense."

Goofy bent down to pick up the book and set it back on the pedestal. "Gawrsh, what happened to you two?"

Sora jumped to his feet and pulled me up with him "We got sucked into the book's world!"

Donald tapped his foot impatiently. "That's great, but we have more important things besides reading bedtime stories you two!"

"Hey, the book's world is in trouble too!" Sora said.

"Yeah, now it's really important that we find those other pages!"

Goofy nodded and smiled. "Okay, then I'll put a star by it on the list so we know it's important!"

Donald gave him a quizzical look then shook his head and lead us out of Merlin's house and back onto the Gummi Ship.

***KH***

I rubbed my sore face and whined "Can I stop smiling now?"

Donald shook his head and smiled wider but narrowed his eyes "No! We need to power up the Gummi Ship since it wasted its energy on the light speed!"

Goofy laughed, having no problem with the forced cheerfulness. Sora held his smile in place with his fingers and looked around "Donald you're driving so slowly!"

Donald turned his glare at him "Again…we have no energy!"

"Don't forget to smile Donald!" Goofy reminded him kindly.

Donald muttered and returned his gaze to the front of the ship. He then cleared his throat and tilted his head. "Um…what is that?" We all gathered around him to peer out of the glass surrounding us.

A large object was moving towards us at a leisurely pace, bellowing every now and then. "Wow, it's huge!" Sora gasped in astonishment.

"Well what is it?" I blinked, watching as it came closer. We all jumped back as it passed by the Gummi Ship in a quick burst of speed.

"It's a giant whale!" Goofy proclaimed, turning his head to follow the whale's movements around the ship.

Jiminy hopped out of Sora's hood at that and examined the whale closely. "It's Monstro!" He gasped in shock.

"Mon-who?" Sora looked at the cricket with a confused expression.

"He's a whale of a whale, and vicious besides!" Jiminy exclaimed.

"Then what are we hanging around for, get us out of here Donald!" I shouted.

Donald threw his feathered hands up in exasperation "Still no energy!"

We all grabbed for a hold as the ship shook from the whale passing so close. My eyes widened as I watched it turn and open its large mouth. "Hurry!" Goofy yelped. Monstro put on a sudden burst of speed straight towards the ship.

"Too late! He's going to swallow us!" Sora warned, holding onto the seat tightly.

We all yelled as the ship was jostled roughly into the whale's mouth. I was tossed around, then my head struck something hard and everything went black.

***KH***

The warmth hit my face before I even opened my eyes, telling me instantly where I was. _Hello Pure Heart _the voice echoed in my head soothingly. _You have done well on your journey so far. _I nodded slowly and looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person speaking. However, only the usual glowing light and whiteness was there.

_I see you two are getting close _the voice commented.

"Who Sora? Yeah, he's my best friend of course we're close." I replied.

_Although you are a Pure Heart it seems your mind remains ignorant like all others. _I narrowed my eyes slightly at the amusement hinted in the voice.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" The amusement quickly faded, replaced by a deadly seriousness.

_Be wise with your choices Pure Heart. They may add to the difficult task ahead of you._ The white started to fade and I closed my eyes, mulling over the voice's words.

I shook my head slightly as I came back into consciousness, but paused when I felt something slimy and squishy pressed against my face. "Gross…" I groaned and pulled myself up then fell back down as Donald's loud voice rang in my ears.

"Knock it off!" He shouted loudly. I held my ears then blinked as a hand was offered in front of my face. I took Sora's hand and he pulled me up.

"You okay?" He examined me with a concerned expression.

I nodded and he let out a breath in relief. Goofy turned from where he and Donald were looking when he heard our conversation "Hey, Sora and Akira too! Are you guys okay?"

Sora nodded, and then blinked. "Goofy…what are you guys doing?" He looked around "And where are we, anyway?"

I leaped back in surprise as a treasure chest sailed by and almost nailed Sora's head. He started at it in surprise as I held back a snicker.

"Uh, ya know, I think that big ol' whale Monstro just swallowed us." Goofy said, holding his shield above his head.

I glanced down at the soft pink thing I was standing on. "Then that means….ew!" I squealed when I realized I took a nap on his tongue.

"And for today's weather: expect showers." Goofy chuckled as another treasure chest went flying and bumped into his shield. "Heavy showers!" He added, cowering below his shield.

Donald, who was tapping his foot impatiently, shouted out again. "Hey! Who's there?"

A small figure looked down at that and shouted back cheerfully "It's me!"

"Ooh, it's just Pinocchio." Donald said nonchalantly. He then paused and did a double take "Pinocchio!"

Jiminy jumped onto Sora's shoulder to peer up at the little puppet "Pinocchio?"

"Hey Pinocchio! How'd you get in here?" I asked. However the wooden boy ignored me, gathering up items in his arms and walking away.

"Pinocch, where are you going? Pinocch!" Jiminy shouted. "Come on, everybody! After him! Quick!"

We all watched as Pinocchio jumped across wooden structures and platforms towards a ship in the back of Monstro's mouth. "Oh sure no problem, we just have to swim across this pool!" Sora said sticking a finger in "It's warm…"

"Sora that' saliva." I face palmed as Sora yelped in surprise and shook his finger.

"Oh that is gross!" He said, slightly miffed.

"Well, there's no other way across so let's go." Donald waved us over, stepping into the pool.

"Easy for you to say, you have waterproof feathers!" But despite my reluctance to swim in whale spit, we all crossed over to the ship Pinocchio jumped onto. As we pulled ourselves up onto the wooden platforms beside the ship, I overheard an old man's voice tinted with curiosity.

"What have you go there, Pinocchio?" He asked.

"With this, we can get out of here, Father!" Pinocchio said. _Father…?_ I blinked _But he's a wooden puppet!_

"Really?" The man's raspy voice filled with hope. "With this big block? You think so?" We all peeked over the edge of the ship and saw they were examining a large gummi block.

"It's true." Sora said, propping himself on his elbows. The old man and Pinocchio looked over at us in surprise.

"So, how did you end up here, Pinocchio?" Sora repeated my earlier question, while pulling himself onto the ship the rest of the way. Pinocchio just turned his gaze back to the large gummi block he had discovered earlier.

"Oh, my!" The old man laughed "So the whale swallowed all of you, too? My goodness."

"I guess he did…" I said, shaking the rest of the whale DNA off me.

"Yeah, looks like it." Sora agreed.

The man held a hand to his chest "My name is Geppetto. I'm Pinocchio's father." I peered around him to look at Pinocchio who was shuffling his feet.

"When we got separated, I traveled all over, looking for him." Geppetto smiled with relief "Thank goodness we're together again." He bent down a hoisted up the large gummi block, grunting with the effort. "So, you seem to know Pinocchio quite well."

"Well actually-" I started but was interuped by Geppetto.

"I hope he was a good boy in my absence." Donald looked up at Goofy, who shrugged. "Well, we've all had quite a journey. Right Pinocchio?" Geppetto turned when there was no response "Pinocchio?"

We all looked over the ship's side to watch Pinocchio vanish through a cavern in the back of the whale's mouth. "Oh dear…" Geppetto sighed. "I hope he's not getting into any trouble."

"Don't worry, Geppetto. We'll go bring him back." Sora reassured him. He gestured for us to follow and jumped over the edge.

"Be careful!" Geppetto called after us.

I paused when we stepped through the hole we traveled through. My hand opened and closed instinctively, wanting to summon the Heartblade to my side. We walked a few steps forward, the ground squishing with each footfall.

"Hey, there he is." I pointed to Pinocchio, who was peering around the corner at us cautiously. "Come on Pinocchio." I called while gesturing for him to join us. However the little puppet didn't move.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked, slightly annoyed. "Come on, let's go back." Pinocchio blinked and stood there causing Donald to tap his foot impatiently.

"You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you." Goofy added.

This caused Pinocchio to giggle slightly, which caused Sora to lose his patience. "Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!" He shouted. We turned to leave, expecting the wooden boy follow us back to the boat, when a voice called out causing us to freeze.

"But, Sora, I thought you liked games." Riku said mockingly. Sora and I whipped around and he sneered "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

"Riku! Wh-What are you doing here?" Sora spluttered in surprise.

"Just playing with Pinocchio." He said nonchalantly.

Sora growled in exasperation "You know what I mean! What about Kairi? Did you find her?"

Riku tensed slightly then relaxed, his eyes becoming unreadable again. "Maybe. Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know."

Sora widened his eyes in shock "Come on!"

He glanced over at me and smirked, and I gasped slightly as a dark aura flicked around him for a few seconds. I narrowed my eyes in confusion and his expression changed. He looked at me like a predator would right before it struck a killing blow. Then he grabbed Pinocchio's hand and ran off, disappearing as quickly as he came.

We all paused a second before Sora slammed his fist into the wall in frustration. "What was that?" He glared at the opening Riku ran into. "What's his problem?" I put a hand on his shoulder but removed it quickly when he turned his glare upon me.

"Uh Sora, you just gotta calm down okay?" Goofy said soothingly.

Jiminy hopped onto Donald's head "Yeah, he still has Pinocchio! We have to follow him come on!" And with that he started hopping after Riku furiously.

Sora sighed and scooped up the cricket, placing him back in his hood before he hurt himself. As we walked into the next chamber, I glanced around but Riku was gone. I then looked over at Sora to see him tapping his fingers against his side, something he did when he was agitated.

We continued moving through Monstro in a stony silence, unnerved by the way Riku acted and the lack of Sora's smiles. The only sounds that echoed through the chambers were the squelches of the ground, occasional bellows of the whale, and Heartless hissing in the distance.

"So Jiminy," I started. "How'd you become Pinocchio's conscience?"

Jiminy peered out at me from Sora's hood. "Why, it was the Blue Fairy of course." He stopped writing in his journal to fully face me. "She gave me the honor of becoming Pinocchio's conscience. I'm to teach him what's right from wrong, so eventually he can become a real boy."

"She sounds like a nice lady!" Goofy smiled.

"Oh, she is." Jiminy said with a serious face, but soon a hint of a blush appeared on his small face. "And she's pretty too!"

I laughed and Jiminy hid his blushing face by sliding back into Sora's hood. Suddenly, a dark portal opened up in front of us and a few Heartless took form. Donald raised his wand up to strike but lowered it slowly as Sora jumped at the Heartless. He swung the Keyblade in a flurry of vicious attacks and they vanished into wisps of darkness in a matter of seconds.

Sora stood there panting slightly, and glanced back to see us all staring at him with wide eyes. "Well what are you guys standing there for? We have to find Riku!" And with that he ran off into a different chamber.

I was about to chase after him when Goofy stuck a hand out. "You know, maybe Sora just needs some alone time to get all that frustration out." He said, patting me on the back. I winced, hating the thought of leaving him when he was acting like this.

Donald nodded "Goofy's right…for once." He muttered at the end. I hung my head and sighed in defeat, knowing they were right. Donald frowned slightly then continued walking forward with Goofy. I glanced back at the chamber Sora ran through once more, and then jogged to catch up with Donald and Goofy.

***KH***

Sora was running fast, only stopping to eliminate the Heartless standing in his way with a furious slash. He skidded to a stop before two entrances and ran into the one to the right without thinking. He had to find Riku and force him to say what he knows about Kairi.

He clenched his fist when he thought of the mocking tone Riku had when he addressed Sora's anxiety to learn of what had become of his friend. This wasn't some game or challenge! They had to work together to find Kairi, not see who could find her first!

Akira didn't even object to Riku saying that. What's with the tension between her and Riku anyways? She was crazy if he thought he couldn't tell.

He slowed his frantic running and took deep heavy breaths. Salty drops trickled into down his face and he wiped the sweat off his brow. Looking around, he saw no Riku. Looking back the way he came, he saw no Akira. His anger and frustration spent, he sat down and tried to calm his quickly beating heart.

When his heart rate had officially slowed down, he stood up and started walking back the way he came. No Heartless came to challenge him, so he relaxed and let his mind wonder. He wondered why the Keyblade chose him, of all people, to save the world. He thought about this a lot actually, why not some other chump who actually knew what he was doing?

Sora ran fingers through his hair and reminisced over the days spent on the island with his friends, when things had been carefree and his problems had been attempting to finish his math homework. But that just brought up worries about the islands, his family, and his friends. More specifically, worries over Kairi's safety.

He gulped when his over active imagination conjured up horrible possibilities of what could have happened to her in the time she was missing. He shook his head to clear it of the images.

Then there was Riku. He seemed…different. He seemed cold and uncaring and the way he refused to cooperate to help Kairi was defiantly unlike him. He would always protect his friends, whether it was an insignificant problem or not. Sora could only wonder what he had been through to make him turn his back on the old him.

And since his mind was on the topic of friends, Akira's image appeared, making him smile slightly. Even though Kairi was missing, and Riku was acting strange, Akira would step in and manage to make him smile.

They had always been close since the time she arrived on the islands, almost as if they had been destined to meet. It seemed they had grown even closer, unfortunately it was over bad circumstances.

He blinked when he realized his heart's pace was picking up again, but he wasn't doing anything to make it speed up. _Except thinking of Akira _his mind reminded him ever so graciously. He shook his head again, dismissing the idea he could be falling for his best friend.

That was silly to be considering that at a time like this. Sure he hadn't wanted Riku to share a paopu fruit with Akira, and had held her hand, and had hugged her and comforted her when she was upset…but that was just because he was a protective friend!

_Denial is a safe place to be_ his mind chimed in happily. Sora groaned, realizing he was now in an argument with his mind. He really needed to get more sleep. He perked up when he heard his friend's voices floating down an entryway above him. Pulling himself onto the ledge, he ran to catch up with them.

Suddenly a figure darted past him and he leaped back, almost falling off the edge. The figure stopped and looked back at him then squeaked in surprise. "Pinocchio!" Sora gasped. Pinocchio darted off again with Sora hot in pursuit.

***KH***

Riku walked down the path calmly, reviewing Sora and Akira's actions and expressions to his words. The way Sora seemed angry and frustrated made him laugh. It was about time Sora felt the seriousness of this situation and stopped parading around with those goofy side-kicks that follow him like his shadow.

"Why do you still care about that boy?" A female's voice asked him. Riku didn't flinch at the sudden appearance of Maleficent. In fact he had grown quite tired of her presence. He would have left if not for what she promised him.

Riku turned around and stared at her and she frowned. "He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all."

He scoffed "I don't care about him. I was just messing around with him a little."

"Oh really? Of course you were." She said in a tone of voice that showed she didn't believe his excuse.

"How is the Pure Heart? She is well?" she asked.

Riku crossed his arms "Yeah she's fine. Wonderful in fact. We stopped to have a tea party and I asked her about her life." Maleficent quirked an eyebrow at his tone of voice but said nothing in response.

A silence followed before Maleficent stepped past Riku and summoned a portal. "Beware the darkness in your heart." She warned. "The Heartless prey upon it."

"Mind your own business!" Riku snapped as she stepped through the portal, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

***KH***

"How big is this whale?" Donald screamed in frustration.

"And what's wrong with its insides?" I asked, poking a pulsating splotch of color. "I'm pretty sure normal whales don't look like this"

Donald snorted "Yeah, they also don't live in space."

"Gawrsh, maybe it's a sick whale!" Goofy gasped.

"Something's wrong with it that's for sure." I muttered. Suddenly footfalls were heard and I heard a familiar voice shout out a warning.

"Grab him!"

We all peered into the opening and saw two figures quickly approaching us. One was Sora and the other was… "Pinocchio!" Donald squawked, jumping at the puppet. He dodged and continued running deeper into the whale.

Sora stopped by us panting and rested his hands on his knees. "Fast…little guy." Goofy laughed and helped him up. He looked at all of us then smiled and we all let out a breath of relief. At least Sora was feeling better.

"Come on!" I said, pulling on Sora's arm. "Pinocchio's getting away!" With that being said we all started to chase the small figure quickly darting through the whale. Sora was in front and reached out an arm when suddenly he stopped in his tracks.

I stopped to avoid bumping into him which caused Donald and Goofy to crash into me. Our momentum made us fall forward and I groaned as my face hit the squishy floor. Looking up I saw Sora locked in a glaring contest with Riku.

"Riku!" He shouted "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking?" A slight venom laced his words as he yelled at Riku. "Don't you realize what you're doing?"

Riku smirked and placed a hand on his hip "I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora."

His eyes swept over us as we got to our feet then locked onto Sora's Keyblade, still in hand from knocking Heartless away from Pinocchio. "You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days."

Sora dismissed the Keyblade and gave Riku a wary glance. "Do you even want to save Kairi?" He spat out in scorn.

"I-I do." sputtered Sora. He seemed shocked that Riku would accuse him of that.

I stepped forward, Riku or not, he couldn't speak to Sora like that after all we'd been through. "That's not fair Riku! We've been searching all over the worlds for you and Kairi!"

Before he could respond a scream echoed through the room. We all froze as Jiminy hopped onto Sora's shoulder waving his arms back and forth. "That was Pinocchio!"

Riku ran through to the next chamber and we scrambled after him but halted when we saw the reason Pinocchio screamed. A giant purple Heartless was standing in the middle of the room, waving its tentacles around in the air lazily. Its body was a mouth with teeth that curved in to form a cage. In said cage was Pinocchio, eyes stretched wide with fear.

It stared at us with beady yellow eyes and the tentacle hands snapped like dog heads. Riku turned to face us "You up for this?" He asked. I blinked when I saw a strange ominous looking sword in his hand. Where'd he get that...?

Sora took a defensive stance, Keyblade in hand "No problem. Let's do it!" Riku jumped up and struck the Heartless on the head. It took a step back, tossing Pinocchio around.

I jumped off the edge and ran behind the Heartless, striking it with the Heartblade. The Heartless made a weird growling noise and stepped forward again, where Sora and Goofy were waiting for it. Goofy battered him with his shield while Sora swiped his Keyblade wherever the Heartless tried to escape.

Riku continued staying on the Heartless' shoulders to attack its head, jumping off only when Donald cast a thunder spell. The Heartless snarled in agitation, unable to move anywhere without being attacked, and swung its tentacle arms around knocking us all back.

Donald cast heal on us all and we resumed our attacking, attempting to keep the Heartless in one place so Pinocchio wouldn't be jostled around as much. "Get me out of here!" He shouted, grabbing onto the Heartless' teeth and shaking them.

Donald looked at Sora and he nodded, then Donald cast aero on him. Sora jumped and floated in place with the help of aero. He swung his Keyblade in a full circle, hitting the Heartless' head twice.

I glanced at Donald, who was nodding at Sora in approval. Suddenly the Heartless started to squirm and twitch and we all backed up slowly, watching it spasm. It grabbed onto the ceiling of the room and spat Pinocchio out.

I cheered until a hole suddenly opened in the floor, dropping the wooden puppet down. We all watched as the Heartless dropped down too. Riku jolted forward and jumped into the opening in the floor quickly without saying anything.

"This guy is sending mixed messages." I sighed.

Sora nodded and peered over the edge. "Well I guess we should jump in and follow them."

Donald rolled his eyes "Good I was just starting to feel left out."

***KH***

We dropped onto the ship and looked around to see Geppetto looking at something, anxiously wringing his hands. "Pinocchio!" He cried "Pinocchio!" I looked to where he was shouting and saw Riku holding a limp Pinocchio in his arms.

"Please! Give me back my son!" He pleaded.

Riku shook his head and answered calmly "Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet." We walked out to where Geppetto was standing and I glared at Riku's attitude towards this man's obviously desperate pleading.

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!" Geppetto said.

"He is unusual." agreed Riku. "Not many puppets have hearts." He paused "I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs." He glanced at Sora then me and I felt my heart stop. _He's talking about-_

"Wait a minute." Sora's eyes widened "Are you talking about Kairi?"

Riku's gaze suddenly narrowed "What do you care about her?" he snapped then turned and walked away.

I blinked when I felt a rush of air pass by me and saw Sora leaping and climbing to the platform Riku was standing on moments before. Goofy sighed "There he goes again."

I just nodded my head, too shocked to speak. _Kairi…lost her heart? And Riku was acting like that didn't affect us! I don't blame Sora for being so angry!_

Sora was moving quickly and jumping high due to the lingering effect of the aero spell and was leaving us behind. Donald quickly cast aero over the group and we ran after Sora. Moving towards the back of the mouth, we entered the opening Riku ran through.

Looking up I could see multiple platforms made of bone and muscle spiraling up towards a gaping hole in the ceiling Riku must have gone through. "This must be its throat." I stated, mostly to myself.

Sora paused and looked up "Then that must lead to its stomach." He concluded. Donald grumbled something about stomach acids before we started jumping towards the opening.

We quickly reached the highest platform, but stopped when there was no way to climb to the stomach. Sora started scrambling up the wall but slid slowly back down.

"Walls are too slick." He said, whipping his hands on Donald. Donald quaked in protest and Goofy put a finger on his chin.

"Well how are we-" He broke off as a strong suction of air pulled us up and into the stomach.

I landed on a large piece of tissue hovering over boiling stomach acids. I gulped while treading lightly as the guys landed behind me. When I looked around I spotted Riku on another platform further away. He had placed Pinocchio against the wall and was just staring at his unmoving form.

Sora ran up to stand beside me, fists clenched. "Hey, let Pinocchio go, Riku!"

Riku's shoulders stiffened and he turned to face us. "A puppet that lost its heart to the Heartless…Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi."

He held a hand out to Sora and an image of what happened on the island flashed in my mind. "How about it, Sora? Let's join forces to save her." I gasped and looked to Sora. He hesitated, a deep frown overcoming his features.

"We can do it, together." Riku continued, walking towards us. A few seconds passed in heavy silence as Sora pondered his proposal. I gulped, realizing that if Sora chose to go with Riku, I'd have to go as well. Without warning, Sora whipped out his Keyblade making Riku freeze in his tracks.

A disbelieving smile spread across Riku's face as he laughed. "What? You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"

Sora shook his head. "Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience."

Riku blinked "Conscience?" He said slowly.

At this, Jiminy jumped out of Sora's hood and was running towards Pinocchio franticly. "You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear." He took a stance with his Keyblade and glared at Riku. "And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!"

Donald, Goofy and I followed his example and stood beside Sora. Riku's expression slowly turned cold "Then you leave me no choice."

Glancing out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Jiminy attempting to shake Pinocchio's foot. "Pinocchio! Pinocchio!"

Pinocchio opened his eyes slowly. "Jiminy…I'm not gonna make it." He said weakly. His head felt to his chest and he moaned in pain. With a creek and a small flash of blue, his nose grew longer and he perked up. "Oh! I guess I'm okay!" Jiminy jumped up and down with happiness which caused me to smile.

Suddenly the Heartless from earlier dropped down from the ceiling, almost crushing Riku. "Riku, are you okay?" I called out. He simply summoned a dark portal and walked through, leaving us with the parasite.

"That was nice…" Donald muttered. Sora stepped aside, letting Pinocchio run past with Jiminy riding on his shoulder.

"Here we go again." I sighed, standing with the Heartblade by my side.

The Heartless used its arms to hoist itself up then fling its body forward, knocking us back. Donald quacked when the stomach acid bubbled, burning the tip of his feathers.

Goofy pulled him back up and ran forward to attack it with his shield. Donald pulled his hat back over his head and cast an aero spell over the whole group. I jumped, the wind pushing me higher and allowing me to attack the head.

Sora slid under an arm as it swung to hit him and raised the Keyblade as he did, striking the Heartless. It swung itself around, letting out a high pitched cry. I dug the Heartblade into its back, clinging on so I wouldn't be thrown into the acid. It suddenly paused and went still, letting the giant mouth on its stomach gape. "Yeah it's knocked out!" I cried, pulling the Heartblade out.

"Attack the mouth on the stomach!" Sora said, rushing forward to attack it. Donald cast a fire ball into the wide open mouth and the Heartless jolted up, feeling around its mouth for damage. Feeling the sensitive singe mark, it flailed, letting its arms fly.

I panicked when I felt my feet leave the platform and braced for the burning of the acid when I halted in midair. I looked at Sora to see him pointing the Keyblade at me, casting aero. Donald looked at him in mild surprise then helped to pull me in. I laughed nervously "Well that's one way to learn a spell."

"Uh, you guys!" Goofy said in a warning voice. We turned to see the Heartless dipping its arms into the acid, staring intently at us.

"Jump!" Sora yelped as the Heartless opened its mouth. We all jumped to platforms around the wall as the Heartless spewed acid over the place we were just standing.

The Heartless paused when it saw we were no longer there and waved its arms warily. It opened it mouth to spit the acid when Sora cast aero the same time Donald cast fire. The spell combination blew the acid back into the Heartless' mouth. Its eyes grew wide and smoke curled up as it started to gag.

It squirmed as a light shined from its stomach. Slowly, a glowing heart flew out and floated up, twinkling as it disappeared. The Heartless slowly fell back into the acid, making it fly in a large explosion.

"Run!" Donald yelled, jumping back just in time as acid fell in front of him. I started to run, then froze as I heard Sora calling out Riku's name.

Turning, I saw him standing around the bubbling acid looking around "Riku! Riku, where are you?"

I ran back and grabbed his hand, causing him to look at me. I pulled him towards the whale's throat, but he resisted. "Akira, we have to find Riku!" He argued.

"It's too late, Sora." I said, still pulling his hand "He's gone." _And I mean that in more ways than one._

Sora hesitated, then consented, running alongside me from the bubbling acid back to the Gummi Ship.

***KH***

Riku stared at the still form of Kairi, listening to the creaking of wood and splash of the ocean waves against the ship. He sighed, addressing the person standing in the room with him. "So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?"

"Precisely." Maleficent said.

Riku's fists clenched. "And her heart was…" He choked up, unable to even finish the sentence.

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt." Maleficent said what he was unable to.

He whipped around suddenly to face her "Tell me! What can I do?" Maleficent smiled, she had been waiting for this. "There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princess of heart. Gather them together, and a door will appear. A door to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom."

"Well…how do you open the door?" Riku asked.

She smirked. "By using a Pure Heart. Who is this one pure heart you might ask? None other than the one who betrayed you, Akira." His eyes narrowed, causing Maleficent's smile to grow.

"Using her, we will open the door. There, you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart."

Riku nodded his head in understanding. "That's why you said to take her when the time was right."

"Exactly." Maleficent tapped her long nails against her scepter, making a clicking sound as she paused to stare at the young boy. "Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift."

Riku tilted his head and looked at her in confusion. She raised the scepter "The power to control the Heartless!"

A green light surrounded Riku, and he could feel the power of the darkness flowing through his body. When the light faded he turned to Kairi with a determined expression on his face.

"Soon, Kairi. Soon."

***KH***

**OMG!** So I had to throw a little bit of fluff in this chapter to make things interesting. And yes Sora flipped out, wouldn't you if you were in his shoes? I was looking back over my first chapters… ._. I'm proud at first then when I write more chapters I want to believe I didn't make those xD


	11. Chapter 11: Atlantica

_Hello everyone! :D Thank you guys for reading my story, and an extra thanks to those who take your time to leave a review, you're awesome! It makes me happy and motivated to work hard on my chapters ^u^ I don't own any of the characters except Akira! Thank Disney and Square Enix for the rest! _

_Omg, get ready for a fluffy chapter folks! I hadn't intended for it to be, but I found my mind decided otherwise when I started typing. And I apologize to any shark lovers who may be reading this. It just had to be done T_T_

***KH***

The mood on the Gummi Ship was not happy to say the least. The conversations held were brief and blunt, silence filled up most of the time. Everyone was thinking their own thoughts, lost in their own world.

The energy of the Gummi Ship was down so travel to the next world was slow, making even more disappointment. This in turn caused the Gummi Ship to run even slower. Sighing, I started up a rhythmical tapping of my foot against the floor of the cockpit, glancing every so often at Sora. Sora however, never looked back over at me, he continued his sullen stare out the window.

Donald was steering the ship muttering occasionally to Goofy, who would respond with a nod or shake of his head. Sora sighed, then suddenly stood up and climbed down from the cockpit. I looked at Donald and Goofy, still locked in their quiet conversation, before following him down the ladder.

I spotted Sora lying on the couch with his hands folded on his chest, bangs overshadowing his eyes. Walking over to the back of the couch, I leaned over and tugged on a strand out his hair "Yoink!" He looked up at me and blew the stray hair from his face.

"How…are you doing?" I asked cautiously.

He shrugged "I'm fine." I stared at him hard and he shrunk back. "Okay okay…I'm…confused."

I nodded in understanding, playing with a spike of his hair subconsciously.

"I mean, why is Riku doing this? We need to work together to find Kairi!" He continued.

"Maybe…he's confused too." I offered up. Sora scoffed but faded into a thoughtful silence. "I've been thinking about you too." He added.

I blinked and blushed lightly "You have…?"

His eyes widened slightly when he spotted my reddened cheeks "Uh, yeah! I mean how-how are you feeling and stuff?"

"Oh…well I am a little upset about the way Riku is acting, but I think he doesn't understand what he's doing his the wrong thing..." My mind flashed to the dark aura that flickered around him briefly. Sora opened his mouth to respond but the bell rang, signaling we had finally reached the next world.

Donald's voice buzzed on the intercom "Sora, Akira, get up here and prepare for landing!" Sora hopped off the couch and ran up to the cockpit, ready to get his mind off of Riku and Kairi I assume. We scaled the ladder quickly and pushed our faces against the glass then paused. The world we had arrived at was completely submersed under water.

"A water world…!" I turned to look at Donald with a raised eyebrow. He however was ignoring me and was preparing the Gummi Ship for landing. It started a slow descent to towards the water world. Sora and I looked at each other, then back to Donald in shock.

"Alright, let's go outside as soon as the Gummi Ship lands and look around!" He said cheerfully.

Goofy laughed "Yeah, we might find a Keyhole in this world too!" I spluttered while Sora jumped in front of Donald and Goofy.

"Wait a second!" He shouted, waving his hands around "Go where? Into the sea? We'll drown!"

Donald smirked and waggled a finger "Unh-unh-unh! Not with my magic, we won't. Just leave it to me." A splashing sound brought our attention to the window; the Gummi Ship had dropped into the water. Donald started to open the door that led to the outside while he pulled out his wand. He waved his hand "So whose first?"

Sora gulped then stepped forward. "Just jump, I'll take care of the rest." Donald said, waving his wand.

"It was nice knowing you Sora!" I called after him. He shot me a playful glare then took a deep breath and jumped out. Donald cast a spell at him as he jumped and a light hid Sora from view. When the light faded Sora was gone.

Donald seemed to not be affected by this, so I was hopeful the spell worked. Goofy patted my shoulder reassuringly then jumped. Donald cast the same spell and Goofy disappeared too. I stepped forward hesitantly and looked out the door. I held my breath, and then jumped. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Donald raise his wand then white overcame my vision.

I sudden warmth ran through my body and I felt tingles run up and down my legs. I squirmed uncomfortably and suddenly found I couldn't move my legs apart. Skimming my fingers down, I felt sleek…scales?

When I blew a breath out, I watched bubbles float away towards the surface. I was breathing underwater. I looked down and saw a light yellow fish tail in place of my legs. I reached down and grabbed the end of my tail, feeling the thin material of the fin. "No way…!" I breathed out in surprise. I was now a mermaid. Donald turned us into fish.

I heard a laugh behind me and turned to see Sora waving a dolphin tail around, attempting to swim in a circle. "Wow!" He exclaimed, turning around his examine the tail. Goofy, who was now a sea turtle, floated past him slowly, moving his fins lazily.

I heard a scoff by my head and looked up to see Donald floating by me upside down. I smirked to see he couldn't move upright easily, what with having eight new tentacles instead of legs. "I had some doubts about you duck, but you did a good job." I turned him right side up and he narrowed his eyes in response then drifted upside down again.

I moved my tail up and down, and found I moved in the exact opposite direction that I wanted to go. These new tail muscles were unfamiliar. I grunted in frustration and eventually moved my way over to Sora. He was also having a couple problems with his dolphin tail, turning it this way and that. He smiled widely and I smiled back but we both snapped to attention when we heard a panicked wail behind us.

"Come on Sebastian! They're right on our tail!" Another mermaid with long red hair was swimming quickly, a blue and yellow striped fish keeping pace beside her.

"Ariel, wait! Slow down!" A red crab was waving his arms widely while shouting up at the mermaid, who was most likely Ariel.

"Don't leave me behind!" He wailed. He picked up a burst of speed which, unfortunately for him, sent him smack dab into the frowning face of Donald. He shrieked and bolted behind Ariel then peered out from behind her fin.

She laughed "Relax, Sebastian. They don't look like one of them. Right, Flounder?" She smiled and turned to the yellow and blue fish beside her who scrunched up his face.

"I don't know. There's something weird about them." He replied cautiously.

Sora laughed nervously and elbowed me, a sign to stop poking and staring at my fin "What do you mean?"

Ariel swam around us in a circle. "They do seem…a little different. Where you from?" She chirped.

"We're from kind of…far away." Sora spluttered. Donald glared at Sora and I mentally slapped him, but we'd have to go with that.

"We've been swimming for miles and miles!" I added, seeing Flounder raise an eyebrow at our swimming skills.

"Yeah, we're not really used to these waters…" Sora laughed and smiled at her nervously.

"Oh, I see." Ariel said, tapping her chin with a finger "In that case…" She gestured to the crab, who was in a stare off with Donald. "Sebastian can show you how we swim around here."

He snapped to attention at Ariel's offer. "Ariel, King Triton will not like this!" His eyes widened as he flailed in front of her face.

Ariel just rolled her eyes at the crab and sighed. "Oh, don't worry."

"Easy for you to say…" Sebastian groaned. He turned to us and plastered on a wide smile. "Okay, it's time for you to learn how to swim properly." He ran us through a couple of pointers, scolding whenever we crashed into each other or swam the opposite direction.

"Alright now, let's see who can tag Flounder first." Sora glanced at me and I smirked. As soon as Flounder swam away quickly, we bolted. Even though he had just gained control of his tail, Sora was quick. He laughed as he swam past me, brushing his fingers against the tip of Flounder's tail in an attempt to tag him.

Flounder put on extra burst of speed and so did I, coming up beside Sora. Flounder twirled and spun the opposite direction suddenly and swam past us. Sora blinked and turned quickly, ready to chase until I crashed into him.

I blinked when I felt something soft pressing against my lips, but my face turned bright red when I realized what it was. I was

accidentally kissing Sora. A squeak escaped my lips as I pulled away quickly and shook my head, seeing if I could shake the blush of my cheeks like dust.

Sora was staring at me with wide eyes and I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Fortunately, they were all locked in their own conversations and we were both far from the clearing. "I-I'm sorry!" Sora spluttered, face tomato red.

I coughed and put a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring and awkward manner. "It's alright Sora…I crashed into you."

He just nodded; his eyes seemed distant as he patted my hand. "Hey!" Donald shouted over at us. "Did you guys catch Flounder?"

Sora looked at me and nodded furiously. "Uh, yeah we did!"

Flounder swam up to us with a confused face. "No you d-" I swiftly covered his mouth and smiled widely.

"Good job!" Sebastian nodded in approval. "Now, let's move on to self-defense." However, before the lessons could start, a startled shriek drew our attention to Ariel. She was pointing towards the cavern at the jellyfish looking Heartless that were swimming around slowly.

Ariel and Flounder quickly swam away, Sebastian lagging behind. "Class is over. Good luck!" He yelped as he passed us by. Ariel turned and hid in cave while Sebastian and Flounder bolted into a giant clam shell and pulled the top down.

"Akira let's-"

"Forget this ever happened? Okay!" I blushed and summoned the Heartblade, swimming towards the Heartless without seeing his reply. Surprisingly, the water didn't slow the blow of our weapons, must have been another part of Donald's magic.

What did slow the blow down was the squishy surface of the jellyfish Heartless. I frowned when the Heartblade sunk into the Heartless and stayed there. The Heartless narrowed its eyes and let go a bolt of electricity that jolted me backwards.

Goofy put his shield on his back then tucked himself into his shell and spun towards the Heartless, knocking them into each other. Donald cast blizzard and froze them together, leading the way for Sora to smash the ice and vaporize the Heartless.

I rubbed my numbed arms, trying to bring back the feeling into them as Ariel peered around the corner of the cave cautiously. Sora looked around, then seeing the cost was clear motioned her out of hiding. I knocked on the clam shell with the Heartblade to alert the other two the Heartless were gone. When the clam stayed shut, I opened it up slowly.

Flounder and Sebastian were cowering while hugging each other, but they pulled apart when the clam shell opened, scattering bubbles towards the surface. They both swam over to Ariel who nodded her head in thanks. "Those creatures chased us here."

Sebastian gasped and held his head in his claws. "Oh, no! Those monsters might be heading for the palace, too!" He wailed.

Ariel's eyes widened "We'd better head back right away!"

Flounder was shaking at the mention of the Heartless "But, wh-what if we run into more on our way back?" He spluttered.

Ariel frowned and turned to us, in which we paused and struck heroic poses. "I'm sorry, but we need your help. Please come to the palace with us."

Sora nodded "Of course we'll help right guys?" He said, turning to us. Donald and I gave her a thumbs up, but Goofy had to stick with nodding his head.

She smiled widely "Okay, let's get going!"

***KH***

"Swim faster!" I yelled while pulling my tail up and out of the range of the Heartless. Donald yelped and put up a burst of speed as the group of large Heartless started to close in on us. Suddenly a large bolt of electricity struck the Heartless group, killing them all.

We all paused as a deep voice growled. "That was too close." Ariel turned around towards the voice and smiled, swimming up to a very large and muscular merman with a long white beard. He was holding a golden trident and wearing a crown atop his head. "As long as I have my trident, I will _not_ tolerate those creatures inside this palace!"

"Daddy?" Ariel said in a cautious yet cheerful tone of voice.

I looked at Sora in shock "Daddy?"

"Oh, Ariel!" Ariel cringed and shrunk back slightly as the merman scolded her firmly "When will you listen? It's dangerous out there!"

"He has a voice to rival the Queen of Hearts, kinda like Phil." Sora whispered to me.

I giggled "You think?"

The king's eyes darted over to us and I stifled my laughter. "There are strange creatures out there." He muttered.

…Hey…why was he looking at us when he said that?

Sebastian swam so he was in front of the throne and cleared his throat. "Behold. You swim before the ruler of the seas: His Majesty, King Triton!" He declared it loudly, looking quite proud of himself. Triton kept glaring down at Sora and I, making me squirm uncomfortably.

"And who are they?" He asked, gesturing at us.

Ariel perked up and smiled at her dad "They helped us fight off those creatures!"

Triton paused and seemed to be considering his words. "They…don't look familiar."

Donald nudged me and I elbowed Sora who stood up straighter. "We're from an ocean very far away." He said confidently.

Goofy laughed "Yup. We came to find the Keyhole!"

Our eyes widened the same time Triton's did. "The what?" He exclaimed.

"Goofy!" Donald growled, a warning clear in his voice.

"What's that?" Ariel asked curiously, to which Goofy chuckled again, unaffected by our frantic motions for him to be quiet. "Well it's a-" I went to go cover Goofy's mouth but King Triton beat me to it by leaning forward with an icy glare that killed all the happy in the atmosphere.

"There's no such thing!" He yelled forcefully "Certainly not here!"

Ariel seemed taken aback by his sudden outburst. "But, Daddy…" She protested meekly but cut off as the King's eyebrows tilted down even further; creating the most fearsome glare I'd ever seen.

"Ariel, not another word!" I squeaked and hid behind Sora to escape his death glare. "You are not to leave the palace. Is that clear?" Ariel gave him a defiant look then turned and swam away, tears in the corner of her eyes.

Triton then turned his gaze on Sora who stared back for several minutes before following Ariel. I stayed behind a little longer, just to make sure he had no trace of darkness on him. But there wasn't a flicker of anything besides rage in his eyes that made me turn and scamper after the group.

Sebastian watched the scene with wide eyes but said nothing, afraid the King's wrath might turn on him instead. Triton sighed and rested his head in his hand "Perhaps I'm being too strict…" Sebastian straightened up and faced the King quickly.

"I'm just concerned for her safety."

Sebastian nodded "Of course, Your Majesty." He paused and continued carefully. He knew he was treading over thin ice by digging further into the subject. "But I must admit; now I'm quite curious about this Keyhole."

He was right about treading thin ice. Triton stiffened and put a hand up to silence him. "That need not concern you, Sebastian." He put his hand down slowly. "Have you anything to report?"

The crab nodded; happy he fulfilled the King's task. "Just as suspected, Your Majesty, they seem to be coming from Ursula's grotto." The crab shuddered at the mention of Ursula.

King Triton slammed a hand down on the arm of his throne. "I knew it! That sea witch is up to no good again." He brought his hand back up to stroke his bread while the thought. "I see exile from the palace has taught her nothing."

"Yes, she poses serious danger." Agreed Sebastian.

The King paused and narrowed his eyes at the crab who froze. "And I told you to keep Ariel away from such danger, did I not?" Sebastian trembled and started to back away slowly.

"Y-Your Majesty, please, I, uh…" He faltered as Triton looked towards the pathway his daughter had stormed off to and resumed stroking his beard.

***KH***

"My father is so _stubborn_!" Ariel yelled as we swam out of the tunnel leading to the palace courtyards and back into the open ocean slowly. Donald was giving Goofy a good scolding, reminding him of how we had to protect the world order, and explaining what they were here doing didn't help that cause.

Suddenly Ariel paused and turned to face us, a determined glint in her eye. "Hey, why don't we try looking for that Keyhole you were talking about?"

I spluttered. "But your very intimidating father said-" Ariel scoffed, cutting my sentence off.

"Don't worry!" She smiled widely. "Someday, I'm going to see what's out there. I want to see other worlds! No matter _what_ my father says! He just…he just doesn't understand." Donald twitched at the mention of other worlds.

I glanced over at Sora, wondering if he was thinking the same thing as me. Judging by his sobered look, he did. Ariel's dream sounded a lot like Riku's.

"I'll start by helping you four out!" She grinned.

She took a turn left and gestured for us to follow her. "First I want to show you something!" She had an excited look about her as she pointed down to a large boulder positioned strangely in front of a rock formation. "It's my secret grotto."

We followed her down to the boulder and helped her to pull it back, revealing a cave in the rocks. Ariel giggled and swam inside the small opening, looking back to our hesitation. "What are you waiting for? Come on!" And with that she disappeared into the darkness.

Sora looked around for any Heartless that could follow us before swimming inside after Ariel, followed by Donald, Goofy, then me. We continued going deeper into the cave and soon it opened up into a huge cavern. The strange rock formation inside made natural shelves which were piled with stuff that looked like it was from land.

The cavern stretched up to the ceiling, in which a hole in the rock allowed sunlight to filter through, bathing everything in a soft glow. We all split up to examine all the items separately, and before long I begin to hear somebody humming softly.

I tilted my head back to see Ariel holding a fork, and she was starting to sing absentmindedly. "_I wanna be where the people are…" _Her voice softened as if she had become conscience of the fact she wasn't alone.

I was too far away to pick up the rest, but I could tell it was from the heart. I turned back to the rock shelves and singled out a particular item. A well-dressed girl and boy were holding hands and dancing on a small circle. I grabbed the statue's dress and turned it slowly, hearing the soothing tune leak out softly.

I felt some memory trying to surface and I held my head, rubbing it slightly as the music continued to play. I hadn't noticed Sora come up beside me until a hand laid on my shoulder startled me out of my thoughts. I looked at him and smiled, too preoccupied to think about the accidental peck on the lips earlier.

He smiled back and we both watched the little figurines spin, mesmerized by the tune playing. As it started to end I noticed I leaned in, desperate to hear more, and Sora did too. The music slowly died off and I felt my heart throb sadly as it ended. Sora's eyes widened when he saw a tear form in the corner of my eye then drift up and disappear into the ocean's waters.

He hesitated at first then slowly reached down and grabbed my hand, a simple gesture to most, but at that moment it meant the world to me. A gesture from him that said he was here for me, no matter what. Yet it was so familiar…so achingly familiar…

The music was echoing around in my head, teasing me. Something was trying to push its way to the front of my mind. A childhood memory? I don't remember anything about my childhood…

"Does it seem strange?" Ariel asked suddenly. Sora and I froze, snapping to the fact we weren't alone. He dropped my hand and I lost the memory I was trying so hard to grasp.

"Does what sound strange?" Sora asked, swimming over to hear her better.

"That I want to see other worlds…" She answered quietly.

"No. Not at all." Sora said. I swam over too while Goofy and Donald tilted their heads towards the conversation.

"Yeah, we used to feel the same way." I added.

Ariel's face scrunched up in confusion "Used to?"

"Err I mean…we still do." I corrected my careless mistake and Sora nodded as he gazed past Ariel at a blue trident shape on the rocks.

"I guess we should start looking for that Keyhole now, right?" She flashed a small smile and swam out from the grotto. Donald and Goofy swam after her but I lagged behind. I turned to glance once more at the music player then left the grotto.

Little did we know, two eels had been watching every move we made and word we had said. They swam from the darkness of the shelves with twisted grins on their faces as they watched Ariel leave. The snake-like snickering was amplified by the cavern as their yellow eyes glowed ominously.

Far away in her own little cave, a witch cackled as she watched the Keyblade wielder and the Pure Heart parading around with the little mermaid princess. Her precious pets' enchanted eyes let her see whatever they were looking at.

"Those impudent fools will never find the Keyhole!" Her hand swirled around the smoke and mist in the bowl, allowing her to channel the views into a 3D hologram.

"But the princess could prove useful. And I've got the Heartless on my side!" She cackled again, her eight tentacles swirling around her. "Triton, my old friend…Your day is coming."

***KH***

I sighed and stopped moving my tail, causing me to sink to the bottom of the seafloor. "I'm tired of swimming!" I groaned. So far, our efforts to find the Keyhole have resulted in nothing, except finding out the giant jellyfish Heartless can have babies by splitting in two when you think you've defeated them.

Donald rolled his eyes and cast aero below me, causing me to do flips back up to the group. Even Sora's energy had faltered from swimming around and protecting Ariel from the Heartless.

"We have to be close to something…" Ariel muttered, looking around. She then gasped happily "Oh, I know where we are! Follow me!" She darted off quickly leaving us to catch up or be left behind in a trail of bubbles.

We paused when she led us to a tunnel flowing with extra strong currents. "There's a passage way through here, it leads to a sunken ship!" Ariel said excitedly. Donald chuckled at the thought of a sunken ship, where there was bound to be treasure hidden aboard.

Ariel swam into the current smoothly but paused and peered back when we didn't move. "Aren't you guys coming?"

I waved her onward "Go wait at the entrance of the pathway for us." She nodded and her head disappeared again.

Donald rushed forward but was pushed back forcefully by the currents. He growled and tried again, but the outcome of course did not change.

"How are we supposed to all get through?" Sora muttered, after finding he couldn't get through either. I frowned and tried to think of ways we could get through when a gray figure rushed through the middle of our huddle, clicking and squeaking loudly.

Looking after it I saw a dolphin swimming away quickly, and turning back towards the way it came I saw a large group of Heartless chasing after it. I gasped when I realized the Heartless were trying to steal the poor creature's heart and summoned the Heartblade.

Donald pulled out his wand and smirked "Don't worry guys, I've got this!" He chuckled "I've been practicing the aim of the thunder spells." Sora nodded and lowered his Keyblade, but his eyes widened when he realized what spell Donald was going to use. Under water.

"Donald wait!" I yelped, but it was too late. Donald cast thunder, and it seemed to be the weakness of the water Heartless. They all evaporated, but since we were in water the electric current spread, stunning all in our group.

I wanted to smack Donald for not thinking that through, but I was too dazed and couldn't get my arms to move. A couple of minutes went by and we all recovered, and then yelled at Donald. I glared at him "I would think Sora would make that mistake, not you!"

Sora nodded "Yeah…hey!" He feigned insult.

Donald scoffed "I was frustrated…"

"Gee that's new." I muttered.

He narrowed his eyes "Besides, it seemed to have eliminated Heartless faster than usual."

"Uh, guys?" Goof interrupted our yelling and pointed to the dolphin that was swimming circles around us. It was whistling happily, darting between our figures. It then paused beside me and I got an idea. "Hey, everyone grab onto the dolphin!"

The guys looked at me with a confused face but then slowly grabbed onto the dolphins fin. I hugged it tightly, and then pointed towards the current "Can you take us through there?" For a second, it seemed the dolphin was running over my words. Then suddenly it put on a burst of speed and swam through the strong currents with ease.

The dolphin turned into the small passage way near the back of the cavern clicking a greeting to Ariel who was at the entrance. We all let go of the dolphin and moved to the back of the tunnel. I kissed it quickly and patted its head. "Thank you!" It nuzzled me then turned and swam back with the current.

When the passage way opened up, we paused to start in awe at the immense size of the cavern we had just swum into. Ariel giggled at our expressions. "Amazing isn't it? I come here all the time with Flounder to collect items for my collection!"

There was not a lot of light in the cavern however, and the waters had become colder. As Ariel led us towards the sunken ship, I shivered from the cold and apprehension. Something felt…off. I looked around but couldn't see much from the dim lighting.

We had finally reached the ship, its outline barely visible. Ariel led us down the stairs to the ships interior, but I paused. Looking out into the waters I saw something moving out in the distance. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I rushed to Sora's side quickly.

It was strangely quiet inside the ship, and a quiet atmosphere is very unnerving. I had whispered to Sora about seeing something moving around the ship and he had tensed, clenching his hand while looking around cautiously.

Ariel waved us over to the back of the ship to boxes filled with shiny golden coins. Donald swam over quickly and started grabbing handfuls of it while I stared at the window the treasure was placed by. Sora looked around for any signs of a Keyhole, but saw nothing but old artifacts Ariel examined closely.

Sora came over and stood by me sighing "There's no sign of the Keyhole anywhere!"

Goofy frowned. "Well where else can we-" his sentence was cut off by my shrill scream.

The whole view outside had been taken up by a large face with glowing red eyes and sharp pointy teeth. Sora's eyes widened as the giant shark drew back and smashed through the window, snapping its jaws and trying to squirm its way inside.

Sora grabbed me and pulled me back quickly as the jaws snapped where I just was. The shark growled and lashed its tail, pulling itself out of the window and swimming away. My heart was beating faster than I think it ever had before.

My fear of sharks overruled all other fears I had. Compared to sharks, heights seemed tolerable. I shrank back into the comforting arms of Sora as he tried to calm my shaking figure. Donald and Goofy watched on in confusion and I was embarrassed to be seen in this sniveling state. How would it seem if the one who was supposed to defeat the great Darkness was reduced to a small defenseless girl at the sight of a shark?

I forced myself to push away from Sora, and I could feel his eyes on me as I recovered from the extreme shock of the attempted attack. In fact I felt all their eyes on me. I narrowed my eyes, scowling at my weakness.

Sora suddenly moved towards the wreckage of the window. He brushed aside glass and moved wood to uncover an unopened treasure chest. Ariel was apologizing profusely to me, stating she hadn't known there was a shark prowling around here, for she had thought he moved on.

I shook her concern off, saying she didn't know and it was okay while moving over to Sora, watching the window cautiously. Sora was trying to pry the chest open using his hands and so far it wasn't working. Looking closer I saw this wasn't an ordinary chest.

"Sora, try using the Keyblade." I whispered, finally finding my voice. He nodded and summoned the Keyblade, tapping it slightly against the chest. It glowed then popped open, revealing a glowing blue trident shape made from pure crystal.

"Hm. Its shape reminds me of something…" He picked it up and examined it closely, racking his brain for answers.

I thought too and suddenly we remembered at the same time. "The grotto!" We shouted together.

Ariel tilted her head. "What about my grotto?" She asked.

"This shape, it's carved into a wall in your grotto!" Sora explained.

"So the Keyhole might be there!" Goofy concluded.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Donald quacked.

He started to swim towards the open window with Goofy then paused and looked back at me. _Be strong Akira…_I gulped and steeled my strength, but took Sora's hand in a death grip as we swam outside slowly. The dim lightly made my anxiety worse, which seemed to be affecting Sora too. He gripped my hand tightly, eyes darting around, other hand locked around the Keyblade.

We had almost made it to the exiting tunnel, when suddenly the shark reappeared, and there was not tight space to hide behind now. "Ariel, go to the tunnel!" Sora ordered. Ariel seemed to have a defiant look, but she turned and rushed towards the small entrance.

The shark rushed towards us, mouth open, and I lost it, swimming towards the exit faster than I thought I could go. The memory came back in horrfying detail. The boy being pulled under, the normally clear cool ocean turning warm and was right beside me, just right there, and then he was _gone_.

But Sora yelp jolted me out of my memories, making me freeze in place and turn around. He had narrowly dodged the snapping jaws trying to take a chunk out of him. Donald cast blizzard, trying to freeze it in place but that only served to make the shark even angrier.

It charged after him, and something inside me changed in that moment. No matter how much I feared losing my life to that shark, I feared for my friend's safety more. I darted between the shark and Donald, and thrust the Heartblade into its mouth vertically. The shark chomped down and was impaled by the Heartblade's point.

I yanked it out of his mouth and watched the shark drift slowly towards the seafloor, a thin stream of red drifting up. I hadn't even realized I had been shaking violently. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all staring at me with wide eyes, shocked by the sudden aggression.

I turned away from their gazes and swam towards the tunnel slowly. _Congratulations Pure Heart._ Oh great…it's the voice. Perfect. "Congratulations on what? Scaring my friends?" I mumbled quietly, careful not to let anyone overhear.

_You learned an important lesson today. _It echoed soothingly. I remained silent while waiting for to elaborate on that. _The lives of other people are in your hands. Sometimes that calls for personal sacrifices. Face your fears, and learn not fear your own demise. _And with that the voice vanished.

***KH***

The swim back to the grotto was spent in silence. A tense awkward silence nobody broke except Ariel, who had not seen the sudden snap. I didn't pay much notice to the attempts to get my attention, I was too busy mulling over the voices latest appearance.

It had told her to put other people before herself, which I get is an important lesson. But one I almost always followed anyways…Almost.

Sora pulled back the rock to enter the grotto, and we had swum inside, suddenly eager to see the results of our labor to find the Keyhole. Sora swam up to the indention of the trident in the wall and placed the crystal in carefully.

We all waiting in suspense for something to happen, staring at the crystal wide eyed. And something did happen, but it was the exact opposite of what we wanted.

"Ariel!" A deep voice boomed behind us. We whirled to see King Triton holding his golden trident, looking very displeased. "You've disobeyed me again!" He glared at her "I told you not to leave the palace!"

Sora's eyes widened when he realized the clue for the Keyhole was right behind and he moved to cover it, but it was too late. Trident raised, the King sent a bolt of energy straight towards it. "Daddy, no!" Ariel cried. Sora thankfully had enough sense to move out of the way, and the bolt shattered the delicate crystal.

We all started in shock and dismay as the shattered pieces floated to the bottom of the grotto. Ariel stifled a sob "How could you…" Her eyes wide, she swam past him quickly and out of the grotto, leaving us with her angry father.

"Young man and woman, you're not from another ocean. You're from another world. Aren't you?" It was not a question. It was a firmly said statement.

We were even more taken aback now. "H-Huh?" Sora spluttered.

His scowl deepened. "Then you must be the key bearer." He said to Sora, and then turned to me. "And you the Pure Heart."

I blinked "How…how did you know?"

He ignored my question. "You may fool Ariel, but you can't fool me. You don't know your dorsal fin from your tail!" Sora looked down at his tail then back at the King and flushed. "As the bearers of the keys, you must already know…" I gulped and shrunk back, seeing a fierce scolding coming. "One must _not_ meddle in the affairs of other worlds!"

"Of course we know that!" Sora yelled, offended. "But…" he broke off seeing the glare of Triton did not cease or soften.

"You all have violated this principle." His glare darted to our hands warily, as if he expected us to summon our blades and beat him senseless. "Key bearers and their Pure Hearts shatter peace and bring nothing but ruin!"

Sora and I flinched back. Donald narrowed his eyes "You're wrong!"

Goofy frowned "Aw, Sora and Akira aren't like that." He spread his fins wide, trying to appeal to the King.

Triton sighed. "I thank you for saving my daughter." He turned and spoke over his shoulder. "But there is no room in my ocean for you or your keys!" He stormed out of the grotto, confident his message had been clear and hit home.

And it couldn't have hit harder. Sora summoned the Keyblade and gave it a foreign look. We all looked at each other, then to the broken crystal.

"…What now?"

***KH***

The two eels had been following Ariel for a while at their mistresses' command. They had seen Ariel storm out of her grotto, obviously upset. Seeing their chance to fulfill what they were sent out to do, they trailed behind her. She dove and twisted throughout the rocks until she sunk to the sea floor, her head in her hands.

The eel with the yellow right eye hissed softly "My, my, the poor child suffers suck deep sorrow."

The corresponding eel with the yellow left eye faked a look of sympathy "What a pity. If only there was something we could do…" They spiraled down to circle around Ariel slowly.

"Wait. Maybe _she_ can be of help." The other suggested, just as planned.

"Yes. Maybe _she_ can be of some help to you."

Ariel lifted her head up to stare at the two eels. "Who're you talking about?" She asked with a whisper.

"Oh_ she_ would surely help you." The eel ignored Ariel's question and began to swim up.

The other eel glanced at Ariel deviously before following the other "She'd make all your dreams come true."

The eels spiraled closer and closer together until suddenly a poof of black smoke filled the spots the once were. "Ursula can help…" The hissed words seemed to linger as the smoke took form of the sea witch.

Ariel stared; transfixed by the situation she'd gotten herself into. Ursula smiled widely "You called, my dear?"

Ariel blinked "You're Ursula? I was just wondering if-"

Ursula shushed her and sunk down to where the mermaid was sitting. "It's all right." She purred in a soothing voice "Helping others is what I live for."

She turned back to Ariel "Let me guess. You wish to see other worlds. That shouldn't be too hard." Ursula managed to keep her smirk back as Ariel brightened considerably and shifted her gaze to the surface of the water.

"After all," Ursula continued "Your new friends came from another world."

Ariel gasped "What!"

"But they had special help-" She paused to poke Ariel's nose with her pointy nail "Those mysterious keys."

Ariel's face crumpled…her new friends had lied to her…

"Now, now. Cheer up, sweetie." She clasped her hands together and smiled "You have something special, too."

Ariel was leaning in, desperate to hear what she had to do to see other worlds. Her dream was so close to coming true!

Ursula couldn't hide the smirk this time; the plan was coming along marvelously. She waved Ariel closer and leaned in herself "Now listen carefully…"

***KH***

Ariel swam through the palace quietly, careful not to draw attention upon her. She reviewed Ursula's words over and over in her head. _"I think the Keyhole they seek is somewhere in the palace."_

Turning behind her, she saw Ursula following the path she led through the more secret parts of the palace to the throne room. _"Now, my dear, if you can take me there without your daddy knowing…I can help you get to these other worlds you long for."_

Ariel looked around for any signs of her father before showing Ursula what was behind the throne. Ursula smiled widely as she saw the glowing trident floating behind the chair.

Ariel grabbed the trident with shaking hands, knowing what she was doing was wrong. But she had to do it. This trident will finally grant her wish. She pulled it from behind the throne but froze when she heard the voice of her father behind her.

"Ariel?" She whipped around and clutched the trident close, eyes wide. "I might have been a little-" His eyes locked onto what was in Ariel's hands and the sea witch that had slunk out from behind the throne.

"Ursula!" He growled.

"Long time no see, Triton." She said mockingly.

"What are _you_ doing here? You were banished from the palace!" He snapped. This situation seemed to humor Ursula.

"Your daughter _invited_ me." At the mention of Ariel, she whipped around and snatched the royal weapon from her hands.

Ursula cackled and held the trident high in victory "The trident is mine at last!" She could feel the power of it running through her body and her smirk widened. She turned to Ariel who was couching by her father with a terrified expression. "And I couldn't have done it without your help, my dear."

King Triton's eyes widen slightly and Ariel cringed. "Give it back, you witch!" Triton lunged for her, in which Ursula reacted to by pointing the weapon at him.

"Not a chance!" And with that being said, she let loose a bolt of energy that hit him square in the chest.

"Daddy!" Ariel screamed in horror as she watched her dad transform into a small shriveled sea weed looking creature. "Dad…!" She placed her hands over her mouth in shock.

"Well, well, well…" Ursula smiled at her handy work. "Now that _dear daddy's_ been silenced…" she turned to Ariel which caused the mermaid to whimper in fear. "We had a deal, didn't we? Time for a little journey-" Ursula paused for dramatic effect and raised the trident. "To the dark world of the Heartless!"

"What! No! I didn't want this!"

Sebastian scuttled into the scene and froze when he saw the crown that was around the shriveled creature "K-King Triton!"

Ariel clenched her fist "Give me back my father!"

Ursula smirked at the tears brimming in the corner of the little mermaid's eyes. "Be careful what you wish for, Ariel. The price of making your dream come true can be huge." She laughed "Especially if it's an impossible dream!"

"Flotsam and Jetsam!" She snapped suddenly "Where's the Keyhole?" T

he eel to the right of Ursula sudden broke her moment of vengeance with its slow raspy voice. "We cannot find the Keyhole."

The eel to the left slithered closer "The Keyhole is not here."

This caused Ursula to pause. "What?" Before she could think about how to handle the new situation, the swishing of tail fins in the distance was heard "We have company." She scowled.

***KH***

Flounder had joined us in swimming to the palace to try and find Ariel. He frowned and spluttered as he tried to explain the King's rage. "King Triton is just concerned. He doesn't mean any harm!"

I patted the little fish's head "We know, Flounder."

Sora nodded. "I know how Triton must be feeling." He turned to look at Donald, Goofy, then me "But we have to do what we have to do."

I heard a soft sniffle and turned to see Donald's eyes were bright and sparkly. "Huh…?" I trailed off unsure what was happening.

Goofy looked over at him "What's wrong, Donald?" He asked.

Donald wiped away a tear that wasn't there "Sora realizes what he has to do…" Sora paused and looked at Donald, who smiled "Never thought I'd see the day…"

Sora twitched while Goofy chuckled "A-hyuck!"

I laughed too but paused when a shout was hear further down the hallway. I turned but before I could see what it was, I was barreled over and knocked back. "Outta my way!" A woman screeched. "With this trident, I'm invincible!" She cackled loudly "I'll be back!"

"Wh-Who was that old lady?" Sora groaned, rubbing his head.

"No apology!?" Donald shouted after her.

We all came back to the middle of the corridor, only to be pushed aside again, this time by... "Ariel?" I shouted. But she didn't pause, only swam faster.

We gathered in the hallway cautiously and looked around, and thankfully there were no more people rushing by. But Sebastian was swimming as fast as he could after Ariel "Ariel!" He shouted! "Calm down-"

He yelped when Sora grabbed his shell and pulled him down into the middle of our group.

"What happened?" He asked. Sebastian started to flail and panic.

"She ran away! We have to follow her! King Triton is-"

"Settle down!" I poked him and he struggled free of Sora's grip.

"That witch is trying to find the Keyhole!" He squealed. Sora gasped and Sebastian started pulling and pushing us out of the palace "Come on-follow me! We can't let Ariel go alone!"

***KH***

I stuck by Sora's side closely when Sebastian led us back to the sunken ship. Ariel was swimming around in circles by a giant rock with a picture of a sea serpent carved into it. "Ariel!" She turned to us and I was struck by how sad her face seemed.

"She lost me. But I _know_ she's close by."

We paused when tremors ran through the ground. The rock we were by sunk into the sand and revealed a passage way leading into an even darker cave. I blinked as Sebastian squeezed out from behind a piece of the sunken ship. He raised an eyebrow at our surprised faces. "What? You could use my help too."

Ariel put on a determined face and started to swim into the cave but Sora and I swam in front of her. "Ariel, we'll take it from here. You should go back to the palace." Sora placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I've got a bad feeling about what's ahead…" I agreed.

"I can't go back!" She said firmly. Sora blinked at her forceful tone.

"My father is hurt, and it's all _my_ fault. I have to stop Ursula!" She looked up at us and locked eyes with me. I saw the pleading look and determination as she tilted her head. "Please…"

"...Okay." I nodded. All the guys looked at me in shock. "Let's go." She hugged me tightly and swam into the crevice. Turning, I raised an eyebrow at the dropped jaws of the boys. "She would have followed us anyways." I shrugged then flicked my tail and went after Ariel.

The cave had stalactites hanging from the ceiling and occasionally steam blew up from the ground, creating a high pitched hissing sounds magnified by the cave. Thankfully, we exited the cave quickly and without any trouble, and found ourselves in a large trench.

A cave shaped exactly like the sea serpent carved into the rock was in the middle of it. Ariel's eyes narrowed as she led us into the belly of the beast.

"What a creepy place…" I blinked when something reached up and wrapped around my wrist in a tight grip. I squealed and yanked my hand back, eyes widening when I saw a shriveled up creature looking at me with pleading eyes.

"Wha-What are these things!" Donald shouted in disgust As Goofy cowered above his head away from the reaching creatures.

"Ursula must have done this." Ariel gasped softly. Sebastian and Flounder shuddered and floated up, far away from the cursed creatures.

"That's terrible." Sora frowned.

We continued deeper into the tunnel of Ursula's home, much to the dismay of the shriveled creatures. I peered into the room at the end of the cave slowly. It was bathed in an eerie purple glow coming from the opening in the middle of the floor. Mist rose from it and curled around the room.

We all froze as Ursula peered out from a small hole placed in the wall. "Come out!" Donald demanded "You can't run!"

Sebastian gathered his courage and joined in "You're time has come!"

She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth at us, making a not so pretty face. Donald and Sebastian screamed and cowered back. She smirked and threw something into the bubbling mist in the middle of the room.

"Destroy her cauldron with magic!" Sebastian shouted as he and Flounder swam back into the tunnel.

"Sora, Goofy, take care of Ursula. Akira and I have her cauldron covered." Donald ordered. Sora nodded as he summoned the Keyblade and charged after Ursula.

I pointed the Heartblade at the cauldron and started casting spells alongside of Donald. Ursula growled then snapped her fingers and her eels appeared and tried to wrap themselves around Donald and me. But we weaved in and out of their twisting forms and they tied themselves into a hissing knot. Donald smirked and cast blizzard into the cauldron and it exploded, sending mist and light all over the room.

Ursula wailed and her head dropped to her chest, signaling she had been knocked out. Sora and Goofy took their chances and unleashed a fury of attacks on her unconscious form. She groaned and shook her head, coming back to her senses. She cast another spell on the cauldron which seemed to give her strength back.

She then stretched out her tentacles and started spinning in circles and they knocked Sora and Goofy back. Donald cast cure on them both then continued the assault on the cauldron. Sora added to the attack also, seeing that Ursula was weaker without her magic.

This time, the cauldron exploding made everyone fly back and hit the wall. Ursula, her strength spent, slid down panting heavily. She growled then lifted her hand, making the trident come to her. She caught it then pointed it straight at Sora and me.

"Enough!" The tip of the trident started to glow and we held our blades in a defensive stance. "I'm going to wipe out anything that's in my-" She screeched as Ariel swam behind her and yanked her hair, making her raise the trident. The bolt of energy instead shocked her two eels and they yelped as they were both incinerated.

Ursula's eyes widened as she stared in horror where her two henchmen once were. "You'll pay for this! How _dare_ you kill my henchmen?" She growled deeply.

"You're the one who killed them!" Donald glared and Goofy nodded his head furiously.

"_Shut up_!" screeched as she swam back into the hole in the wall.

"Thanks Ariel, we owe you one." Sora sighed.

She smiled "Hey, that's what friends are for right?" I smiled back and hugged her.

She pulled away and had that determined look on again "Let's go. We have to get the trident back!"

"That probably leads outside, come on!" We all squeezed into the opening and back into the open ocean.

***KH***

We found Ursula outside holding the trident, unfortunately waiting for us so she could fulfill the revenge she promised. "You pathetic fools! _I _rule the seas, now!" Our eyes widened as the trident started to glow, a glow that also covered Ursula.

"This isn't good…" Sebastian muttered.

We watched a dark smoke started to gather around her, and then solidified. She stretched higher and higher up, all the while the smoke becoming thicker and swirling around us. "The sea and all its spoils bow to my powers!"

All we could do is watch as the sea witch used the tridents powers to grow to unimaginable heights. "All right, you fingerlings. From now on, call me Queen Ursula!" I gasped as one of her tentacles wrapped around me tightly, pinning my arms to my sides. She waved me around and I winced, getting major whiplash.

Craning my head I saw Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ariel were also trapped in a tentacle. "Donald do something!" I yelled as I was swung past him.

"What do you mean by _something_?!" He yelled back.

Sora was swung over near us and joined in the yelling "Well, you're the one who's an octopus just like her!" He said. Donald gave him an absurd look.

Ursula laughed "No strength to fight back? How about a tender squeeze?" I closed my eyes tightly as the breath was squeezed out of me. "Let the sea swirl and roar!" She waved the trident around in a circle and created a massive whirlpool around her.

"Donald get the trident!" Sora hissed out with limited breath.

"How is he supposed to do that?" I choked out.

"I can't swing my wand..." Donald groaned.

"Man, you're useless!" Sora scoffed.

Donald shot a glare his way "So are you, Sora!" I tuned out the conversation when I spotted something moving on the seafloor.

The sunken ship was shaking and was being pulled from the ground by the spinning waters. I urged it on, willing it to come loose. It was slowly pulled from the sand with a massive groan from the wood and started spinning around in circles, spiraling towards Ursula.

Black spots had begun to dance in front of my vision as I watched the splintered hull of the ship smash into Ursula's back. She grunted and in her surprise let go of us, grabbing for the ship lodged in her back. I gasped for breath, gaining my strength back.

"Now you can go for the trident, Donald." I smirked and he pulled out his wand.

"Let's go!" Sora cried out and we rushed towards the giant Ursula.

We aimed our attacked at her face and she cringed back, lunging at us with her tentacles, trying to trap us again. We dodged each attempt to grab us and weaved in and out between them, casting magic at her face.

"Quit squirming around!" She growled. Sora tossed the Keyblade at an angle towards her face, the swirling waters driving it into the side of her face. She howled and covered her face as Sora summoned the Keyblade back.

When her hands came down, she was scowling. Her mouth opened wide, and she started inhaling deeply. I squeaked when I realized she was trying to bring us closer to see could grab us. That or eat us! I rolled while still waving my tail wildly to stay ahead of the current sucking us in. Pointing the Heartblade at her open mouth, I aimed carefully and shot a blizzard straight down her throat.

She gagged and held her throat, allowing us to stop swimming as the current faded. Squirming, she backed up into the whirlpool and screeched as the waters pushed the broken ship deeper into her back. The pain caused her to let go of the trident and her eyes widened in dismay. She started shrinking, the magic of the trident pulled from her body. She collapsed to the dark smoke surrounded the area, her hand still reaching for the trident.

A golden light emerged from the smoke and shot straight up, covering the giant trident. When it faded, the trident had shrunk back to its original size. Ariel swam over and grabbed it, then turned to us and smiled widely.

Suddenly, merpeople were all around us, laughing and cheering. "Look! We broke Ursula's spell!"

Goofy smiled while Sora gathered us all for a group hug. "And the trident is back where it belongs!"

Ariel paused "Not quite."

***KH***

Sora, Donald, Goofy and me hung back while Ariel brought the trident up to her father, who was back in his normal kingly body. Ariel held out the trident to him, head hung low "Daddy, I'm so sorry."

Triton took his weapon then brought Ariel into a fond hug. "I'm so glad you're safe…"

He pulled back and looked her in the eye. "It's my fault. You followed Ursula because…I wouldn't let you follow your heart. Please forgive me." Ariel smiled and hugged her father again, a sign that all was well.

Triton turned his gaze onto us, and thank goodness, it didn't turn into a glare. "Also, I did not trust you four. And for that, I apologize."

"It's okay." Sora shrugged.

"But, uh, I have to ask something." Goofy said "Why'd you destroy that crystal?"

Triton rubbed his forehead and sighed "I lost my temper and shattered the crystal because it held the power to reveal the Keyhole."

"The Keyhole is dangerous. I had to keep you away from it at any cost."

Ariel frowned "Daddy…"

The King looked me then at Sora "Brave Keybearer…I have one more request…Seal the Keyhole."

"But how? The crystal is broken." I pointed out.

"My trident also holds the power to reveal the Keyhole. Will you do it?"

Sora nodded "Of course. That's what we had in mind from the start."

"Where is the Keyhole, Daddy?" Ariel tilted her head.

"You should know better than anyone. It's in your grotto." He answered.

Sora gave a little fist pump.

"Knew it." I muttered.

"Really…Sora, let's go." Ariel said.

***KH***

Triton raised his trident in the air, in front of the trident shape curved into the wall. The trident started glowing, and the carving in the wall flashed in response. The water above the rock in the middle of the grotto started bubbling

The bubbles drifted up and gathered in one spot, glinting sunlight showed they were turning into a clear shape. When the rest of the bubbles floated off, a small clear square was left hovering in the water. The Keyhole was in the middle of the square, the edges of it glowed with a blue light.

Sora swam up to the Keyhole and pointed the Keyblade straight at it. He glanced over at me and I summoned the Heartblade, which immediately started to glow when it sensed the presence of the Keyhole. The tip of the Keyblade shot a light into the Keyhole, locking the heart of the world.

The Keyhole dissolved into bubbled that floated through the hole in the ceiling. "Thank you." Triton nodded "Now peace will return to our sea."

Ariel swam over to us face filled with curiosity. "Tell me, Sora, Akira." We turned to her and she smiled "Your world, what's it like?"

Sora winced "Oh about that…Sorry for lying to you."

"I hope you're not mad." I frowned.

"It's okay." She laughed. "Besides, if you can travel to other worlds, maybe I can too." She started swimming up towards the hole in the grottos ceiling. "So many places I want to see…I _know_ I'll get there somebody." She reached a hand through, reaching towards the surface, towards the other worlds. "I'll find a way somehow. I'm sure of it!"

"Some things never change." Triton muttered to Sebastian. I paused, realizing that since we locked the Keyhole we would be leaving the world. But there was something I wanted to listen to one more time. I drifted over towards the music player and spun the figurines, making the noglastic music play softly. Sora swam over and tugged on my arm, silently saying it was time to go.

I sighed and we started towards the exit, my eyes lingering on the music player. "Mark me, Keybearer." We all froze as Triton spoke behind us. "And Pure Heart, be warned." Sora and I turned and gave him looks "If mishandled, those blades may bring unspeakable calamity. Wield them with caution."

Great. Like we didn't have enough pressure on us already.

***KH***

I groaned loudly as my legs gave out from under me and I crashed to the floor for the third time. "I'm sore all over from swimming so much…" Sora whined. Goofy was crouching on the floor, attempting to crawl to his room.

"Hey…" Sora held up a sopping wet piece of paper. "Look! I found this in Ariel's grotto."

I scooched over to wear he was sitting and took the paper. "Isn't this from Ansem's report?" I paused when I realize where he said he found it and stifled a laugh.

Donald however was not as quiet as he whispered to Goofy "He was rifling through the stuff in a girl's room…" Sora's eyes widened and he blushed. "Kidding! We should dry this off then show it to Cid and Leon…later." Donald said as he crawled down the ladder. "I'm going to bed."

I jumped down and dragged myself into my bed, not bothering to change into something more comfy. My only thoughts were of rest. I closed my eyes and let my mind wonder in my half-awake state.

Soon an image formed in my mind. The blonde with side swept hair and blue eyes was comforting the little girl, who seemed to be shivering from fear. "_It was only a nightmare…I'm here to protect you._" He whispered soothingly.

He turned to the stand beside her bed and picked up the music player, winded it up a few times then set it back down. The figurines started to dance, and the music began to play. The girl instantly calmed, and her eyes began to droop. The blonde hummed along with the tune and soon the girl was sound asleep.

_Why…?_ I sighed when I realized the voice had stopped by for a visit. _Why are you starting to remember?_ Remember…? These were memories…? Before I could ask what the voice was trying to say, my tired mind gave out and I fell asleep.

** *KH***

_Whoa! Guys, there is a lot going on in this chapter isn't there? Very stressful world for poor Akira. And what does that mysterious voice want with Akira? She wonders when it's ever going to give her any useful information…or maybe it already has… Hehe! Confusion is fun ;) _

_Oh and if you didn't get it, her fear of sharks formed when a shark attacked and killed a boy who was swimming just a little bit away from her back on the islands. Just though I'd elaborate for information and such~  
_

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, it would make me very happy if you left a review telling me how you feel! :3 Until next chapter, bye!_


	12. Chapter 12: Halloween Town

_Hey guys KingdomKat here with the next chapter oooof *dramatic music* A Tale of Hearts! Huzzah! I'm glad people actually enjoy reading this, because I enjoy writing it!_

_Hopefully this world won't be so stressful on Akira; I think the whole group needs a break from stressful things! Because after this chapter things will start to get nasty….DUN DUN DUUUUUUN._

_And I didn't have a whole lot of inspiration for this chapter…for other chapters yes but not this one. So don't judge if it's not my best ;_;_

***KH***

I yawned and tossed the covers of my bed aside, rolling out of bed and landing with a groan on the floor. Last night's dream was still in my mind, so I lay still while I soaked in the details. The voice was there, of course, and so was the blonde along with the little girl. And the strange music player that made the almost hypnotic tune.

Stumbling out of my room, I was careful not to make any loud noises since the ship was so quiet, I didn't want to disturb the peacefulness. Peering into Donald then Goofy's room, I could tell they were both sound asleep. But when I opened the door to Sora's room, the bed covers were tossed aside and he was nowhere to be seen.

I leaned in a little more, checking to see if he was on the floor. "It's not polite to enter people's rooms without them knowing." A voice whispered against my ear.

I jumped and squeaked loudly, whirling around to see Sora smiling at me, failing to hide his laughter "You jumped five feet!" He said between laughs.

I pouted and slapped his arm lightly "That was mean!" Sora shrugged and smiled.

"You're up early." I commented.

"I couldn't get back to sleep." He blew a strand of hair out of his face and blushed lightly. I couldn't help but notice he was avoiding my eyes.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" I asked, stepping a little closer.

He shifted his feet. "I had too much on my mind." I muttered in agreement and there was a short awkward silence as we both flipped through the thoughts in my head. Sora, not being the type of person who doesn't like long stretches of silence, coughed to get my attention.

I looked up at him and his blush deepened. "In Atlantica…did you…uh…" he broke off and paused.

"Did I…what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you feel anything when you kissed me?" …Oh. So that's why he looked so awkward.

I felt my face getting hotter and Sora became even redder when he saw my face flushed with embarrassment. I waited, not quite sure if he was asking a serious question or not. When seconds ticked by and he didn't crack a smile, I gulped. "Well…I'm not really sure. I mean it was only an accidental peck right?" _Liar!_ My mind screamed. _You enjoyed those few seconds!_ I imagined beating that part of my mind with the Heartblade and felt slightly better.

Sora's face dropped slightly and I was shocked to see a flash of disappointment in his eyes. But his expression soon became thoughtful and curious "You're right…it was only a peck…" His mumbling got quiet and I couldn't pick up anymore words.

He suddenly smiled widely then started pushing me back into my room. "Whoa-hey what are you doing?" I tried to push back but he easily overcame me. He pushed me lightly and I was sent flailing into my room.

"You need you strength, go back to sleep!" And with that he shut my door.

I blinked at Sora's odd behavior then whined as my stomach growled "….I'm still hungry!"

***KH***

I sighed and moved the hairdryer up and down the wrinkled piece of paper, glancing around the cockpit. "Are you sure using a hairdryer is alright?" I asked skeptically. Goofy and Sora shrugged and continued watching the paper for any signs that it might be catching on fire. I paused when I heard the sound of webbed feet tapping the ground in rapid steps. Donald was angry again.

Looking over at the controls, I saw him staring down at little flashing button. I turned the hairdryer off and walked over to examine it. Donald craned his neck to stare at me warily as I smiled at the button. "Look, this one says 'push me'! That means it's okay to push it!" Donald slapped my outstretched hand and I pouted.

"I've never seen that there before." Sora tilted his head.

"Maybe 'cause it's never flashed before now." Goofy suggested. Donald scowled then slowly reached out and pressed the button.

"Yo, kids? How's it hanging?" We all leapt back in shock as a giant form of Cid's head projected itself onto the front of the Gummi Ship.

"Cid!" Sora smiled widely. "How'd you-"

"I added it when I fixed the Gummi Ship! Just thought it was about time I tested it out." Cid smirked.

Donald growled in frustration "Why didn't anyone tell me about this!" Sora laughed nervously as Goofy restrained Donald from attacking the holographic Cid.

Cid scratched his chin "What's with him?"

I shook my head "Nothing. This is his usual self." Donald turned slowly towards me and I scooted over until Sora hid me from his view.

Sora sweat dropped then paused. "Hey Cid, you have good timing!" He held out the two pages of Ansem's report we collected in front of him.

Cid leaned forward then smiled. "Hey good work, kid! Send them over!"

I groaned, "Do we have to go all the way back?"

I sighed in relief as Cid shook his head. "I installed something else to help out with that!" Goofy, who had just put the calmed duck down, yelped and restrained him again. Cid pressed something and a section of the wall by the button popped off, revealing a fax machine. "Convenient isn't it?"

Sora rolled his eyes and inserted the papers into the machine. It beeped then sucked the reports down. A ding went off on Cid's side of the screen and he held up the yellowed papers, muttering about how he was an extreme genius.

"Say, Cid."

"Hm?"

"What's written in those reports anyways?" I asked. None of us had known how to read his work, it was all in some weird symbolic writing.

Cid shrugged and peeked over the top of the paper "I'll have Aerith work on decoding his work." I nodded

Goofy, who figured Donald was calm enough, set him down cautiously. He waddled over to the projection of Cid and coughed "Can I ask you one more favor?" He said with a plastered on smile.

"Sure. Shoot."

"We can't see where we're going because of your big head on the screen!" He yelled, flapping his arms up and down. Cid narrowed his eyes as Donald flailed

"Cool down, man."

Donald simmered down, twitching slightly. I stepped in front of Donald to block his view "How about if we need help, we contact you?"

Cid scoffed then smirked "Don't expect me to follow up on that." And with that being said there was a click and we were disconnected.

Sora dared a glance at the still twitching Donald then leaned over to me "Anger issues…" He whispered in a sing-song voice. Donald snapped his gaze to us and we slowly backed up then ran from the cock pit laughing all the while.

***KH***

The bell rang loudly and I rushed up to the cock pit, ready to sneak a peek at the new world. When looked out however I was slightly taken aback. "This world looks…interesting." I heard Sora murmur in agreement beside me. The main body of the world was a large jack-o-lantern, covered in strange looking black buildings.

I could tell Donald was wary of the world also by the way he was looking at it, but he steered the Gummi Ship to land none the less. The ship touched down and we looked around slowly before stepping out, the only time we would actually follow one of Donald's rules.

Goofy halted in his tracks though. "Uh you guys, don't you think we'd be outta place with our clothes?" Donald's eyes widened in the fact Goofy had said a valid point.

"Well, I don't think we have any clothes suitable for this world." I commented.

Donald shook his head "You never learn." He scolded me while waving his wand around. I rolled my eyes and stepped out into the world. I was surrounded by light and warmth briefly before a blast of cool air caused my eyes to fly open.

The world was rather cold and depressing looking, and had a very creepy atmosphere. I leaped back in shock as a pale figure rose from the ground. It chuckled loudly then floated away "G-Ghosts!"

Something flicked around my legs and I jumped up, only to find the fuzzy object followed me. "What the-"

"Akira! You're a cat!" Sora shouted.

I tilted my head and watched a black cat tail sway in the air behind me. I felt something warm lay against my head and up to feel fuzzy cat ears, then ran my tongue over my teeth and felt sharp cat fangs. Smiling widely I looked over to see Sora dressed as a vampire. He had a pumpkin mask placed partially over his face that covered his right eye. He flashed a smile, showing he had pointy fangs too.

Donald was a mummy, wrapped completely in white fabric, but missing the middle of his body. Goofy looked to be a Frankenstein creature of some sort with the tip of his nose replaced by a small pumpkin.

I giggled "A Halloween world? Oh no way! Do you think we get free candy here?" I paused when I felt a tugging behind me and turned to see Sora examining my cat tail closely.

I coughed and he blinked then smiled "Sorry! This is just too cool." I yanked my tail away, much to his amusement.

"This sure is a spooky place." Goofy commented "I bet the people here are scary-lookin' too."

Donald chuckled, marveling at another magic job well done "Don't worry. We look spooky too." He struck a scary pose "If they scare us, we'll scare them right back!"

I watched Sora laugh gleefully as he fluttered the mini bat wings coming from his shoulder blades and rolled my eyes. "Hopefully."

Sora paused "Well, if we're not scary enough, Donald could probably scare them!"

"Donald scares everyone." I agreed. Sora snickered as Donald narrowed his eyes at us then started walking down the path. Sora and I took a moment to laugh and followed behind.

Walking forward, we reached large iron gates and pushed them open to reveal what looked like the main square of the town. The gates creaked loudly as they opened and I winced, looking to see if anybody had heard it. But the town square was surprisingly empty, apart from the occasional creature lurking from the shadows.

Suddenly a large explosion echoed throughout the town and ghost-like Heartless appeared in front of us. I growled and summoned the Heartblade but I lowered it slowly when the Heartless don't move an inch. They just swayed from side to side slightly, waving their arms.

Sora scratched his head in confusion "…Eh?" Donald poked one and jumped back but the Heartless never moved its gaze or lashed out. I kept a tight grip on the Heartblade but relaxed my stance and back tracked to stand beside the group.

A few seconds passed as we tried to process what exactly was happening when a voice rang out in the clearing. "And now, allow me to introduce the master of terror, the king of nightmares-Jack Skellington!" The Heartless parted and pointed their arms towards the fountain that was spewing some sort of green liquid and leaking mist throughout the clearing.

A thin skeletal figure slowly rose up from the fountain, arms crossed over its chest. It continued to rise and I had to crane my neck to see its head. When it had risen from the fountain fully, it smiled widely, striking a pose.

A little figure in a suit waddled up to the skeletal figure cheering loudly, it thin tall top hat bobbing up and down. "Bravo, Jack! Bravo!" I tilted my head and watched, not completely sure what was happening. The little man smiled "Those ghosts will be a big hit at this year's Halloween!"

Jack turned and waved to the creatures that had seen his performance and were cheering his name. "Thank you, thank you!" He walked up to the small man in the top hat and sighed, placing his hands on his boney hips. "But their movement still needs work. It's not scary enough."

"Are they talking about the Heartless?" Sora said in shock.

"Who knew the Heartless were aspiring actors." I muttered, watching the Heartless cackle and float around.

Jack shook his head and hunched over. "I want to strike bone-chilling terror." He looked up sharply and narrowed his eyes while raising his arms and curling his fingers, causing the small man to jump back.

"I'm going to consult the doctor." Jack sighed, then turned and walked away. The small figure paused then smiled again

"Then I'll go attend to the decorations." He waddled away quickly, leaving our group more confused than we were before.

"We should follow the Jack guy." Sora suggested. "He's going to talk to someone about the Heartless."

I smacked a Heartless and raised an eyebrow as it just floated away. "If we could learn how to control Heartless, maybe they'd stop attacking people!" I cheered. Donald made a face but said nothing.

We followed after Jack, poking and prodding the Heartless in amazement, until we reached the door he had walked into. Sora held the door open and waved us through. It led to a small enclosed yard filled with dead grass and bats hanging from the walls. We walked up the stairs and pushed open another door, hopefully not intruding in anyone's personal home.

I peered in through the pathway of the door into a lab filled with all sorts of strange looking equipment and vials filled with smoking concoctions. "I don't understand." Jack said while he bent over to examine a Heartless stretched out on a metal table. "Maybe the guidance system was damaged in the explosion."

A scoff was heard beside him and an odd looking man in a wheelchair rolled up to the table "Nonsense. My devices are always perfect!" Jack paused and walked over to a ginormous open book, his fingers skimming over words as he searched for something.

He suddenly jerked up and pointed to something written in the book. "Oh, I've got it!" He shook his head and seemed to laugh at himself "Why, of course! The Heartless need a heart!" He whirled around and pointed toward the man in the wheelchair. "Doctor, do you think we can add a heart to that device?"

Donald tensed "Well this can't go wrong in any way."

The Doctor turned to face him and smiled. "Certainly. A heart's not all that complicated. Let's get to work."

I rolled my eyes "These guys know nothing." Maybe we should've walked forward then, but instead we watched as Jack read out ingredients from the book.

"To make a heart, first take a container with a lock…"

The Doctor pulled something out and placed it on the table. I blinked as something that looked like a sewed together heart started beating. He examined the metal enclosing the beating object and scowled. "We need the key to this thing first!" Jack looked back and scratched his chin as he thought.

We all tip toed back and gathered around. I looked at Sora and groaned to see him getting his idea face on. "Oh no, what is it now Sora?"

"I'm going to unlock that heart thing for them!" He said happily.

Donald scowled "You're really gonna unlock it for them?"

Sora shrugged "Why not? If they succeed, we won't have to fight the Heartless, right?" He looked at me, referring to my earlier statement. Lifting a hand he hid a smile. "Besides, I want to see the Heartless dance, too. Don't you?"

Goofy laughed "Yeah, that'd be funny!"

I squealed and nodded happily, my cat tail swishing."Totally!"

"Not really." Donald frowned.

"Spoil sport." Sora summoned the Keyblade and walked in the room despite Donald's protests.

Jack and the Doctor looked up in surprise. "I can unlock that heart for you." I pointed at the beating thing on the table.

The Doctor gave Sora a doubtful glance but Jack smiled widely "Splendid!"

Sora pointed the Keyblade at the lock around the heart and shot a beam of light into the lock hole. It clicked and Jack clapped his hands "My! That was amazing!" He hesitated and looked at him with a confused expression. "Uh, and you are…?"

"Sora."He replied.

Jack smiled and patted Sora on the back "Well done, Sora! I'd like you to be a part of this year's Halloween."

"Aw, you lucky!" I poked his shoulder repeatedly to show my displeasure.

Sora ignored Jack's statement and my whining to point at the ghost Heartless on the table "What's this Heartless doing here?"

Jack smiled "Oh, the Heartless came to town just recently." He put his hands on his hips again and sighed. "What's frustrating is I can't get them to dance with me."

I stifled a laugh at the sight my mind conjured up. Dancing Heartless...I would pay to see that!

"So the Doctor and I are trying to improve the guidance system." Sora merely nodded his head, staring at the Heartless on the table. My eyes followed Jack as he walked across the room to pat the Doctor on the back. "He's quite a genius!" I could see the Doctor smirk as he continued to look over the book.

"Okay, Doctor, let's continue. The ingredients for a heart: Pulse."

I backed away from the table and pulled Sora with me as the Doctor loaded up the table with strange looking ingredients. "Emotion." Doctor chuckled creepily.

"Terror."

"Fear." Jack added.

"Hope and despair."

Jack bent over the table, excitement showing in his raised voice "Mix them all together, and we have a heart!"

My frown deepened as they listed the ingredients for their heart. Those aren't the right emotions for a heart to have. I was interrupted by saying anything when the Doctor pulled a lever, causing electricity to come down and shock the Heartless. We all watched in shock as the Heartless stood up…then fell back to the table with a thud.

"It failed!" Doctor cried out. Jack placed a hand on his head, seemingly overcome with disappointment. "Maybe we're missing some ingredients…" He mumbled while skimming over the pages in the book.

I stepped forward slightly "Maybe you should try-"

The Doctor gasped suddenly, interrupting me. "Let's try adding memory!" Sora placed a hand on my shoulder as I pouted. I looked up when Donald quacked in surprise and blinked. The Doctor had opened his head and was rubbing his brain.

"Sally! Sally!" He called out while looking around. When no one came he pounded the arm of his wheelchair in frustration. "Good-for-nothing girl!" He whirled his chair around and slammed the top of his head shut then growled "Don't know why I bothered creating her! Sally has the memory we need. See if you can track her down!"

Jack waved a hand "No problem." He turned to look at us "Sora, would you like to come along?"

Sora nodded "Sure! As long as my friends can come too!"

"The more to look for Sally, the better."

As we stepped outside the Doctor's lab into the main square we were approached by the little man in the suit from earlier. His face was now blue though and had a large frown on. "Jack! Jack! We have a major crisis!" He wailed, waddling up to Jack as fast as he could.

He stood a moment and panted to regain his breath then looked at us with a panic stricken expression. "The Heartless are completely out of control! We can't stop them!"

I turned to give Sora a look. "Here come the Heartless we know and love."

"No dancing today…" He hung his head and sighed sadly.

Jack scratched his head, completely confused "Hmm…maybe our experiment triggered something." However he perked up quickly. "Everything will be fine, Mayor. You have nothing to worry about."

Donald stopped on Sora's foot when Jack had walked ahead slightly. "That's what you get for using the Keyblade and letting the Heartless know we're here!"

Sora grabbed his foot and hopped after Jack "I just wanted to see them dance!"

Jack pushed the door open and peered out. The ghost Heartless had a light projecting from their one good eye as they swept it across the ground, as if searching for something.

One of the lights swept across our group, causing the Heartless to jump slightly. The light turned red and the ghost started flailing its sharp claws at us. I tensed and was surprised to see claws slide out of the tips of my fingers in place of nails. Smirking, I summoned the Heartblade, slashing through the Heartless.

I turned to see the guys taking care of the other ghost Heartless and ran to help them out. When the Heartless were gone, we decided to go searching for Sally.

I was poking at a cut on my arm that was oozing blood but stopped, struck by a sudden thought. "Hey, Sora."

He looked back at me. "Hmm?" I squinted, pretending to scrutinize him. "Since you're a vampire…do you want to drink blood?"

Pausing, a smile twitched on his lips "Well…if I do…you'll be the first to find out." He gestured at the wound on my arm.

I covered my cut self-consciously and narrowed my eyes in suspicion at him. Sora pushed open rusty gates to a graveyard and we all walked in slowly.

Mist was covering the grounds and curling over the gravestones in slow wisps. The moon cast a soft yellow glow over the whole scene, broken only when a stray cloud drifted over it. The perfect Halloween picture.

Jack walked away from the group, distracted by a quiet barking. My eyes widened when I saw a ghost dog float up from a gravestone shaped like a dog house. It circled around Jack, tongue lolling from its mouth. "Zero!" Jack smiled "Have you seen Sally anywhere?"

The dog's long ears perked up and it flew over to behind a statue. I heard a small gasp and suddenly a girl's head appeared. Her eyes met Jack's and she stood up fully. "Is something wrong, Jack?" Her voice was gentle and filled with concerned.

Jack smiled "No, everything's going great." She frowned slightly but said nothing. "We're going to have the best Halloween ever! All we need now is your memory." I raised an eyebrow at the simple way he said that. _Is it really that simple to take a memory? Maybe I can get a clue of what happened to me..._

She tilted her head "'Memory'? You mean this?" She held out a bunch of wilted blue flowers and I sighed in disappointment. I'm pretty sure my memories aren't made of flowers.

Jack took them and nodded his thanks and examined the flowers closely. They didn't seem too be different from other flowers...

"Flowers…?" Sora scoffed.

"Those are forget-me-nots." Goofy whispered.

Sora's face dawned with realization of where the connection between the flowers and memory came in.

"Jack, I have a bad feeling about this." Sally murmured "Why don't you try something else? There's still time." J

ack answered without removing his eyes from the flowers. "Nothing could beat what I've got planned!" He turned around and grabbed her shoulders "Once we give the Heartless a heart, they'll dance just as I envisioned it."

Sally removed his hands from her shoulders and gave him a dubious look. I could understand where her hesitation was coming from it could be a potentially dangerous situation. But hey come on, dancing Heartless! "Trust me. You're going to love it!" Jack tried to reassure her.

Sally just sighed softly in exasperation. Jack rushed us out of the graveyard, obviously eager to see if the forget-me-nots would help the experiments with the Heartless. It took a second to realize we were being left behind, but when we did we ran to catch up with Jack shouting at him to slow down. Sally shook her head, waiting a moment before following after us.

***KH***

Cackling and giggling ensued as soon as the graveyard was empty. The lid of a coffin was popped open as a kid dressed as a devil hopped out "Lock!" He shouted.

A little girl followed after, this time dressed as a witch "Shock!" She giggled.

A final kid jumped out dressed as a skeleton "Barrel!"

They huddled in a smile group, mischievous smiles hidden behind their masks. "Did you hear that?" Barrel asked.

"Yeah I sure did!" Lock replied with a smirk "A heart! What should we do?"

Shock scoffed. "Gosh, you really are stupid! Isn't it obvious?"

"Tell Oogie Boogie!" Barrel suggested with a smile. They all paused as the plan started forming in their minds, then suddenly burst out into snickers and giggles.

***KH***

Jack handed the flowers to the Doctor who looked at them closely before placing them down with the other ingredients. "Yes. This is it." I started doing a happy dance and Sora laughed before joining me. The Doctor looked at us quizzically before turning back to the book. "Yes well then…We just need one more ingredient."

"We need 'surprise' to complete the heart. The Mayor should know where it is."

As the group walked out of the room Sora nudged me. I looked up into his smiling face and arched an eyebrow in question of what he wanted. "Is it just me or are the ingredients of a heart rather weird?"

I smirked "Yeah, I pretty sure my heart isn't made up of snakes and spiders."

Sora shook his head "Defiantly not...So Akira…"

I tilted my head "What?"

"Since you're a cat…do you want to chase small fuzzy creatures?" I shoved him playfully and he laughed.

***KH***

Lock, Shock and Barrel were huddled in a group in front of Oogie Boogie, shaking as he cackled madly. "A heart?" He let the word slide from his lips and laughed again. "That bonehead Jack is really making a heart?" His laughing increased in volume.

"I'll be jiggered! That works for me!" He danced around on his toes "Ooh when I get my hands on that…" He paused and looked down at the sewn together ends to the sack of his body "Well, I've got no hands, but I'm still gonna nab that heart and control the Heartless!"

He finally couldn't contain his laughter and let it all out, the shaking figures of his three minions making it all the more funny.

***KH***

Jack led us through the graveyard and we defeated Heartless on the way as he explained the Mayor was decorating the whole town for the upcoming Halloween. He brought us to a coffin in the back of the graveyard, its lid slightly ajar. He lifted the lid and I squeaked, expecting a dead body. But inside was instead a deep black hole.

Peering down, I couldn't see the bottom. I groaned "Oh no, not more falling." Goofy chuckled as he and Sora nudged me slightly, sending me tumbling down. I was surprised when I was sent out another coffin into a different graveyard, even more so when I landed on my feet.

I stepped aside as yelling alerted me to the arrival of the boys. Sora stumbled as he came out of the coffin, but he was knocked down by Donald and Goofy who crashed into him from behind. I giggled to see them in a heap on the floor, just like they were when we had first met.

They stood up and brushed themselves off as Jack stepped through the coffin calmly and regarded them with a curious look. I heard a huff and looked over to see the Mayor with his upset face on, looking at several ghosts who were laughing at him.

He looked over to see us and rushed over "Jack, I can't get any work done! These ghosts won't leave me alone!"

Jack looked over to the ghosts and smiled "Aw, they're just messing around!" The ghosts smiled and nodded in agreement.

The Mayor shook his head "I'm too busy to deal with their silly antics!" He huffed again.

"If take care of them, will you tell us where we can get some uh…'surprise'?" Sora asked.

The Mayor nodded distractedly "Of course! Get ready for a big surprise!"

"Oh gosh." I muttered.

We walked over to the ghosts and they drifted down into the tombstones then flew out again in a random order, squeaking as they rose up. Jack laughed "Oh, it's a memory game! These guys always get bored and want to play memory games."

"Okay okay I got this…" Sora rubbed his hands together then pointed at a tombstone, which exploded in his face. He stood there with a shoked expression, coughing and scattering the soot on his face.

"...Wrong!" I snorted.

After being fightened by several exploding tombstones, we finally got the order of the rising ghosts right and they flew away, squealing happily.

The Mayor clapped and switched to the happy side of his head. "Splendid! Now, go look at the pumpkin!" We walked over to the giant pumpkin placed in the middle of the graveyard and paused. The Mayor was staring at us with anticipation and quite frankly it was freaking me out.

"So…what? Do we stare at it until something comes up behind us or-" I screamed as the giant pumpkin exploded with a large boom.

The Mayor cackled "Surprise!"

Jack laughed and picked up and jack-in-the-box that was inside the pumpkin "Thanks Mayor!"

We ran back to the lab quickly; ready to see if the heart would be a success this time or not. The Doctor eagerly accepted the jack-in-the-box and added it in with the rest of the ingredients, picking up the now finished heart. "There you go." He handled it cautiously "This time it's sure to work." He wheeled his chair over to the table with the Heartless on it when all of a sudden a kid dressed as a skeleton jumped out in front of the chair.

The Doctor was jolted forward and the heart flew from his hands. It was caught by a little boy dressed as a devil with a girl dressed as a witch beside him. They all giggled then ran from the room.

Jack helped the Doctor back into his chair and he growled loudly. "The nerve of those hooligans, stealing my work!"

"Don't worry Doctor, we'll get it back." I reassured him then ran outside with the boys. Looking around however, it seemed that the three little kids had vanished into thin air.

"We lost them!" Sora groaned.

Jack paused then patted his knee, summoning his dog Zero to his side. "Zero, after them, quick!" Jack commanded. Zero turned away and flew off in pursuit of the thieves. We followed him dodging Heartless along the way into the coffin in the graveyard.

"Who are these kids anyways?" Goofy asked.

"Those three like to cause trouble all over town. The girl is Shock, and the other two are Lock and Barrel." Jack explained.

When we arrived, Zero pointed his nose towards a strange looking hill outlined against the moon's light. The hill ended in a swirl, which suddenly uncurled, leading the way of escape for the three kids riding in…a walking bathtub? I shook my head at their choice of transportation then rushed to chase after them.

We jumped through the coffin, careful not to land in pile of jumbled up limbs. Zero barked and zoomed around a large pumpkin looking crypt, its doors slightly ajar. Sora and Jack pulled them back the rest of the way and we all stepped through with Zero in the lead.

The crypt ended up throwing us out into a large field that had jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins dotting the landscape. In the middle was the strange swirly hill the bathtub holding the kids walked across. As I stepped towards the hill, dark portals appeared all around the field. Heartless took form as mummies, ghosts and gargoyles all looking straight at our group. "Oh boy."

The mummy Heartless leapt towards us, waving around their very sharp claws. I blocked the one in front of me but gritted my teeth in pain as a Heartless behind me tore into my back. I cast blizzard behind me, successfully freezing the mummy Heartless in place. Goofy rammed into it with his shield and shattered the mummy into a million pieces.

A stray ghost Heartless trying to flee the battle was quickly taken care of by Donald and I relaxed my tense stance slightly. However I blinked when I realized something warm was dripping down my back slowly. I craned my neck to try and look then dabbed my fingers at the claw marks gently, wincing as the touch sent a ripple of pain through my body.

I grabbed a hi-potion from my bag and was about to pour it down my back when I felt another touch on my wounds. I hissed as the fingers dabbed at the blood and whipped around to see Sora licking something red off his finger. I gaped at him. "You do want to drink blood!" I hit him then quickly poured the hi-potion down my back.

Sora spluttered "Wha-no! Well I mean-I was only curious!" My eyes widened at him and I tried to retain a serious expression, but something about this seemed so surreal I couldn't keep the incredulous grin from spreading across my face. "I cannot believe you just did that."

He smiled at me sheepishly then held his hands up and backed up slowly as my eyes narrowed. "It smelled good!" He yelped before scrambling away as I summoned the Heartblade and swiped it over his head. Chuckling, I dismissed my blade and followed the boys up the hill as it uncurled slowly.

We hopped onto another pathway and followed it until it led to a large manor in a tree that was growing in the middle of a giant crevice in the ground. The way up to the manor doors was a long rickety looking wooden bridge, not very safe at all. Jack clenched his fists and seemed to tense up when he saw it. "I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!"

"Oogie Boogie…?" I muttered, giving a questioning look to the boys. They all shrugged and we trudged up to the manor doors slowly and cautiously. I kept my eyes ahead and not on the fall that could happen if I misplaced one step. When we reached the manor doors I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

The doors opened up to reveal a fairly large empty room. A small platform was in the middle of the room and Donald waved us all on before lighting a fire in the little metal container below it. The platform started to rise slowly and we all stepped off onto another wooden bridge that winded around the tree branches.

After a minute or so of tense silence, we finally arrived at a set of doors placed high above the ground. We pushed them open and stepped into the room to see Shock throw the heart down a metal chute in the wall, Lock and Barrel beside her.

They turned to look at us with a gasp as we glared down at them, then pure panic ensued. They began running and jumping around the room, laughing and screaming at the same time. I tried to hit them with the Heartblade lightly, just to knock them out or at least tire them down.

Shock jumped on my back and stared pulling on my hair, causing me to swing high and missed Lock. I yelped and spun, trying to throw her off. I felt the grip loosen and she slammed into the wooden walls, groaning. I huffed and reached up to rub my sore scalp.

Donald was starting to get frustrated that his attacks were missing the two boys and started to throw one of his famous temper tantrums. Barrel paused to watch him and laughed but was hit by Sora's blizzard and his feet were frozen to the floor.

A high pitched squeal brought me to the attention of Jack, who used his long arms as an advantage and held Lock by his shirt, far away from the ground and Jack's face. Lock growled and tried to twist and squirm to bite Jack but after a little bit he gave up and hung loosely from Jack's hand.

"We were just following orders!" Shock wailed "Oogie Boogie told us to steal the heart. It's all Barrel's fault!" She added on, taking her mask off to cast a glare at her teammate. "It was his idea to tell Oogie Boogie about the heart."

Lock picked his head up "Yeah, that's right!"

Barrel took his mask off to look at them with a stricken expression "B-But you guys said-"

"You should be ashamed!" Shock scolded him and he hung his head, pouting.

"How do we get to Oogie Boogie?" Sora asked. The three kids paused then pointed to a lever that was beside the chute. Jack dropped Lock then walked over and pulled the lever. Metallic gears whirred and clanked as Barrel shook his head "Just don't go into the green door!"

The other two children glared at him again as I smirked "Thanks kid."

And so we ran all the way back down the wooden bridges, where I know I saw a flash of green as we were walking to the first manor doors. Leaning over the edge and looking down, I gave a triumphant smile as I saw a green door with a creepy face on it below me. I hopped down and gestured for the guys to follow me. "Well that was easy." Donald quacked.

"Which means the rest is going to be not so easy." Sora sighed.

The room was walked into was creepier then the door leading into it. It was full of flashing colors and the floor below us was a roulette wheel. Looking across to the other side I saw what looked like a sack standing on top of a slot machine, the stolen heart in his hand.

"Oogie Boogie, give me back the heart!" Jack demanded angrily.

Oogie smiled and leaned forward "You want it? Well, then come over and get it!" He waved the heart in front of him tauntingly before throwing back his head and stuffing the heart down his throat. I stared at him in shock as he swallowed.

"Well there it goes." Donald mumbled.

Oogie cackled at our faces, seeming to find this hilarious. "Now, let's see if I can get their attention." Spreading his arms wide, he stood up straight and called out in a sing-song voice "Oh, Heartless!" Two gargoyle Heartless flew beside him and everything froze as Oogie waited in his pose. He looked from one Heartless to the other "This is it?"

I gulped as a dark aura started to gather around him "Nobody disrespects me! Nobody!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. I squeaked as the floor under us tilted up, making us slide down onto the wheel. I looked up to see Oogie smiling down at me.

"Don't worry cutie, you're needed for some big mumbo jumbo master plan so I won't hurt you...much." He laughed again and I saw Sora tense and take a step closer to me. Oogie snorted then threw a pair of dice down.

I stepped back nervously as they settled down then exploded clouding my vision with smoke. Hissing as my eyes started to burn, I stepped back only to find my back collide with bars. The ground beneath me seemed to move and when I opened my eyes Oogie was standing right in front of me. I yelped and lashed out with the Heartblade, tearing a hole in the sack-like material of his body.

He held the hole closed and smacked me, sending me back down onto the wheel. Sora placed a hand on my shoulder and I nodded, telling him I was fine. Oogie glared down at us and rolled the die again, laughing happily when they came to a stop.

I looked up and my eyes widened in horror as I saw giant blades attached to a machine, bearing down on us quick. I pulled Sora back and the blade landed an inch from both our faces. He helped me up and we both dodged the moving weapons. Oogie growled as the blades were brought back up and threw a pair of die down. They exploded, spreading the smoke around the clearing. When it cleared, Sora was the one on the raised platform sent to Oogie. Oogie glanced down at me in confusion then tried to run as Sora unleashed a flurry of attacks, causing multiple tears and rips in his body.

Sora swung the Keyblade in an upward attack and the sound of ripping fabric filled the air. We all looked up to see Oogie gaping at the giant hole made in his body. I made a disturbed face as bug started falling from the tears. He made a sound between a groan of pain and a wail of panic as the bugs seeped out of him and crawled away, leaving behind an empty sack.

We all stood in silence panting slightly. "…That _was_ easy." Sora said, surprise clearly showing in his tone of voice.

"A little too easy if you ask me." I muttered, glancing around. But all I saw was Jack's disappointed face.

"So, that heart was a failure after all." He sighed. I reached out a hand to comfort him but ended up grabbing a paper that flew loose from Oogie's body. I raised an eyebrow to see it was a part of Ansem's report. Tucking it into my pocket, I turned to catch up the guys, who had already started to walk out the green door.

We walked all the way back across the wooden bridges leading from Oogie's manor and started back to the town when a rumbling in the ground stopped us in our tracks. He ground started shaking violently and I had to flail my arms in order to stay on my feet. "W-What was that?" Goofy gasped.

We all turned to look back at Oogie's manor, but were met with a wall of dust and smoke. Jack murmured in confusion but we all stood shocked at what we saw when the cloud settled. The manor was no longer a part of a tree; instead Oogie Boogie had somehow become a part of it.

"Whoa! How'd he get so big?" Sora gasped.

"I knew that was too easy!" I shouted, but paused when I saw little flares of dark energy attached to random parts of the house. "Look! He's drawing power from those dark globs!" I pointed out the energy pools to the boys.

"So we just have to destroy those things, right?" Sora shrugged.

"Easier said than done." Donald said.

Donald used aero to fling us over to the patched of the wooden bridge that still wrapped around Oogie's body and we landed, not gracefully, but thankfully not in a heap on the floor. "Let's split up!" Jack suggested. "That way we can take him down faster." So our group was temporarily broken up as we each ran and jumped to separate parks on the manor to search for dark globs.

I had destroyed about two when a fireball appeared out of nowhere and brushed past my face. I grabbed my burnt cheek and stepped back, unaware the wood behind me had burnt too. I gasped as my foot fell through, causing me to lose my balance. I waved my arms in a panic but it was too late and I slipped over the edge.

I shrieked and tried to grab onto the wood but my fingers closed on air. I saw a stone floor rapidly approaching and braced myself for the splat but nothing happened. I looked around to see Sora pointing the Keyblade at me, using aero to let me come to a gentle stop beside him.

I gasped and hugged him tightly and he shook his head "How many times have we been in mortal peril and had to save each other?" He asked with a playful smile

"Too many times." I answered, totally serious. Sora smirked then drove his Keyblade into the dark glob beside him. It burst, and Oogie's manor started shaking violently.

The ground lurched and I grabbed Sora to help me get a hold of my footing. Sora called for the others, and they came running towards us quickly. Donald and Sora cast aero and sent us flying, we landed lightly on the cliff's edge and turned to watch Oogie's manor crumble to the ground.

I peered over the edge and squinted my eyes as they strained to see through the dust to a light shining through. When it settled I gasped to see an extremely large Keyhole outline in the ground. It must have been below the tree Oogie built is manor on…wonder if he knew that.

We walked down the steep rock walls slowly to the Keyhole, since we were too far away to reach it from the cliff top. I stopped at the edge of it and frowned. "How are we supposed to lock it? It's too big!"

Sora looked around the paused and looked up at the moon. He summoned his Keyblade and aimed it up and towards the moon. I raised an eyebrow but called the Heartblade to me also. Light gathered at the tip of the Keyblade and was beamed up.

We all paused and waited as suddenly a flash of light sparkled in the sky before it showered down blue lights. The falling lights landed in the Keyhole and it started to glow a bright blue. I put my hand over my eyes as the simmering intensified, and then the Keyhole faded, leaving behind the satisfying echoes of a lock clicking into place.

***KH***

"Sally, why didn't I listen to you?" Jack hung his head, overcome with disappointment in himself. Sally shook her head and smiled at him

"Don't feel bad, Jack." She and took his hands in hers "We'll come up with another plan for Halloween." Pausing, seeming to draw her courage, she looked up at him "Next time, we'll do it together."

I squealed silently, finding the moment they were having extremely cute. Sally looked over at me, and if she could blush I'm sure she would be. Jack dropped her hands and sighed "I guess we have no choice. We'll have to cancel the Heartless Halloween festival for now."

Sora and I whined in disappointment causing Donald to roll his eyes. Jack smiled "Visit us anytime, friends. Next year's Halloween will be the scariest ever!"

We nodded and turned to go, but I lagged, hearing the Doctor mumbling to himself. "Emotion, memory…We put in all the necessary ingredients." He wheeled his chair around, showing he was frowning in concentration "What else do you need to make a heart?" His frown deepened "What is a heart, anyway? I can't figure it out."

I placed a hand over my heart, feeling a moment of confusion at his questions. What is a heart? How can something so tiny, be so complex and powerful? I sighed and glanced up at Sora, who must have felt my eyes on him because he turned around and flashed me a wide smile. I felt my heart rate pick up and I blushed lightly. The heart was mysterious indeed.

***KH***

_GAH, DONE FINALLY. *facepalms* It wasn't even that long of a chapter…ANYWAAAAYS I hope you enjoyed! Review, PM me, follow, favorite do whatever! Show your love for Kingdom Hearts!_

_I'm glad they had fun at this world…I feel bad sometimes when characters never get a break from depressing crap xD But hey it's getting close to the real conflict of the story, and the pressure is increasing…I hope Akira can take it._

_Until next chapter, baaaai!_


	13. Chapter 13: Neverland

_I watched my best friend read my chapter and couldn't believe the amount of squealing that came from that girl's mouth XD If you guys act like that, I would be more than happy!_

_And when they are reading Ansem's report, the report's words are in italics. That way it's easier to see it's them reading….or whatnot. Neverland is one of my most favorite worlds and lots of stuff happens! Yaaaaay!_

_GAH! After much flailing, crying, squealing, and screaming, I have finished KH Dream Drop Distance! That game…almost killed me…. TT_TT NEXT UP KH3. Hopefully Xehanort will DIE this time…_

_Ohohooooooh! I made a poll! :D Yay XD I don't know why…I just felt like making it ^u^ I would like it for some people to do it, to see which fluff moments you guys like best. YAY FOR FLUFF. _

_Hehe…Big Ben…hehe…Hetalia…XDD _

_OKAY I WILL STOP TALKING NOW. EVEN THOUGH I LIKE TALKING. Hope you enjoy the chapter!_

***KH***

I chuckled to myself quietly as I finished up my sketch. While rummaging through stuff in my room, I had found a sketch pad and a few writing utensils. Settling down on the couch, I started drawing to the best of my ability.

I peered over my pad at Sora, who was watching me from the other side of the couch. I stared at his eyes, really looked at them, and I was surprised to see how blue they were. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as I continued to stare.

"You know…your eyes have the same shade as the glowing from the Keyholes." I stated, looking down to continue my drawing.

"So, you stare at my eyes often?" The scribbling of my pencil stopped and I looked back up at him. I could see the corner of his lips tugging up in a slight smile and I blushed lightly.

I decided to ignore that question, but Sora crawled closer. "What'cha drawing Akira?" I squealed and held the picture back

"You can't see!" He grinned mischievously then started poking my ticklish spots, effectively making me giggle and drop the sketch pad.

We both paused then made a mad dash for it. I grabbed it first and laughed victoriously until a weight dropping on my back cut off my breath. I groaned and squirmed but that got me nowhere. "Sora…get off!" I heard him chuckle and utter a quick "No."

I whined loudly and tried to glance up at him. He was sitting on my back; hands crossed and chin perched on them while he started down at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Not until you show me the picture!"

Thankfully the intercom buzzed and Donald's voice rang through the ship "Hey you two, Cid is calling again!" Donald voice seemed slightly irritated; no doubt at the fact Cid was calling us instead of us calling him.

Sora got off then helped me up and I protectively hugged the picture to my chest. He laughed and poked me "This isn't over!" I watched as he backed up, pointing two fingers at himself then to me. I put the picture down with plans to bolt down the ladder the moment Cid was done talking.

Moving up the ladder quickly, I hopped over to the small flashing button and pressed it, internally squealing at the chance to press a button without being yelled at. I stepped back as the holographic Cid was projected in front of us.

He smiled and waved at the scowling Donald "Hey! So how's it going?" I pulled the piece of paper from my pocket and waved it in front of Cid's face happily. I inserted it into the convenient fax machine and Cid smiled as his eyes skimmed over it "You kids aren't doing half bad! Oh, this reminds me!" He scrambled for something off screen then sat up, holding another piece of paper. "Here's a summary prepared by Aerith."

Sora grabbed the paper as the machine beeped and we gathered around him as he started to read. "_I spent countless years gathering all there is to know. My knowledge became my power; and it is now protecting this world. I brought smiles to people's faces, and they respect me. Still…People call me a philosopher, but there are still some things I do not understand._"

Goofy leaned over a bit more, putting a hand on Sora's shoulder as he looked at the paper "A-hyuck! Is this guy a big shot or what?" He chuckled and Cid leaned back in his chair, bringing his arms up to cross over his chest.

"Ansem was a scholar and philosopher who governed our world." He explained "Everyone respected him, and world was peaceful." He brought a hand up to rub his forehead as Sora continued.

"_Everyone's heart, no matter how pure it may be…has darkness sleeping inside. At least that is what I thought, until I heard about the Pure Hearts._" Sora paused and the boys turned to look at me.

I gulped and clenched my fist, resisting the urge to snatch the paper from Sora's hands. "Well…? Go on and continue reading."

Sora nodded and returned his gaze onto the paper "_However, despite countless tests and searches, I could never find a Pure Heart. Perhaps they only exist in legend._" Shocked and disappointed were the words to describe how that paper just crushed me. A thousand questions raged through my mind like a wild fire but I forced myself to listen to the rest of the report.

"_I've found a small amount of darkness can sometimes swell with surprising speed…and I've seen many people whose hearts were consumed by that darkness._" Cid scoffed and we looked up to see him rolling a toothpick between his fingers.

"I'm not sure of the details after that, but he discovered some Heartless in the basement of his castle." He popped the toothpick back in his mouth and narrowed his eyes slightly "Maybe all this craziness started back then…" He sighed then motioned for Sora to carry on.

"_Are these the end results of people who have lost their hearts? Or is this the realization of the darkness that already existed within them? Or something entirely different? The only thing certain is that they have no feelings whatsoever._" Sora's reading slowed slightly as he faded into his own thoughts.

"_We need to give them a name. People without a heart…Let's call them 'Heartless.'_" I felt a shiver run up my spine as the words echoed around the Gummi Ship. Even Cid had become subdued as the summary of the reports went on.

"_If I study these Heartless and I am able to understand their nature, I should be able to discover their purpose and the intent of their heart. To begin my study…I developed…_" Sora trailed off and seemed to forget we were listening too as he brought the paper closer, eyes wide with shock.

"What? What is it?" I grabbed the paper from him and read out loud "_I developed a machine for artificially generating Heartless. _Wait…what!" I yelled in shock and Sora snatched the paper back.

"_If these Heartless were born naturally from people who lost their heart…then it should be possible to synthesize Heartless around the heart's principle._"

Donald's jaw dropped as he gasped "He synthesized more Heartless…?!"

"_If I improve this machine, it may be possible to create Heartless from scratch. When I compared the machine-made Heartless and natural-born Heartless I determined that the nature and performance of the two are nearly the same. But in order to draw more accurate test results I will place a mark on each machine-made Heartless for identification._"

Below that sentence was a scribble of a heart, crossed through the middle was an 'x' with thorns coming from it. The same mark that was on almost all Heartless we've fought so far.

"So someone abused this machine!" Sora shouted.

"Maleficent?" I suggested.

"Most likely." Cid muttered.

"She must've created Heartless after Heartless with the machine-" Donald broke off in his ranting as the Gummi Ship suddenly swung to the left. I yelped as my face met the ground painfully.

"What's wrong?" Cid pressed his face against the screen, trying to look around for us.

I peeled my face from the floor and groaned "The ship lurched suddenly…" Donald heaved himself up and Goofy sat up looking out the window.

"I think we ran into something…" He broke off and I watched as his eyes widened. "Something really…big…"

I scrambled beside him and gaped in awe at the giant ship that was in front of us "A pirate ship!"

Sora ran up and watched as the ship turned and started heading straight towards the Gummi Ship "It's going to ram us! Hold on tight!"

The ship slammed head-on into the Gummi Ship. My head slammed into the wall forcefully and I sent a curse up to whatever force got amusement from trying to make me pass out. I held my head, determined not to lose consciousness this time.

I stood up shakily, leaning heavily on the walls of this ship. Looking around, I saw we had lost connection with Cid and the boys were all lying on the floor, breathing soundly, obviously unconscious.

The ship was silent, eerily so. The pirate ship was beside us and to my horror I saw a board connecting the two ships. No one was crossing it so they must already be- A sound made my breathing stop. I whirled around, wincing when the sudden movement made my head spin.

The hatch leading to below was slowly pushed open. I inhaled sharply as a Heartless appeared in the space. It looked like it was dressed to be a pirate. I looked around then squeaked as it saw me. Growling, I summoned the Heartblade and tried to swing it at the Heartless but that made my stomach churn and I crumbled to the floor.

The Heartless hopped out of the way and a man with a long mustache and wavy long black hair scowled around the cockpit. His red coat swished as he stepped through completely and I got nervous when I saw the sharp hook that replaced his left hand. His other hand, which was not a hook, reached up to smooth back the large feather on his hat casually.

I filled my lungs with air, ready to yell at this man and show how fearsome I could be! But all that came out was a groan of pain. I mentally slapped myself as the man paused and looked down at me. He smirked but I was too distracted by who was behind him to pay attention. "Ri-" The last thing I saw before everything went black was a pair of aqua eyes staring down at me coolly.

***KH***

Sora slowly regained consciousness, becoming aware of the rocking surface he was lying on. He kept his eyes closed and listened; the slapping of the ocean against an object and turning of the waves lulling him into believing he was home once again.

However when he opened his eyes, he realized the slapping of the ocean should not be relaxing in this situation. He bolted up, wincing slightly, and looked around. He was on the pirate ship that had rammed the Gummi Ship it seemed. But where were his friends? His heart flittered in panic to think Akira might be hurt somewhere without him knowing.

"I didn't think you'd come, Sora." A voice sighed behind him. He froze and turned slowly to see Riku looking down at him with a glare. "Good to see you again."

Sora hesitated and looked around. "Wh-Where are Donald, Goofy and Akira?"

Riku shook his head. "Are they that important to you? More important of old friends? And as for Akira…you should stop concerning yourself with that Pure Heart. Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking…about _her_."

Riku stepped aside, and gestured to the red-haired girl that sat behind him. Sora gasped "Kairi!" Kairi didn't stir when he shouted her name; in fact she seemed to not be aware of anything around her. Her eyes were dull and stared off into the distance, unseeing. She seemed to be breathing, but not living.

Riku scoffed at Sora's concerned look "That's right. While you were off goofing around, I finally found her." Sora growled and ran towards Kairi, but halted quickly to avoid being impaled by a sharp hook that was placed in his way.

"Not so fast. No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy." Sora looked into the smirking face of the pirate captain, then to the pirate Heartless who were slowly starting to surround him. He felt the heavy weight of sorrow pressing down on his heart as he turned back towards the uncaring, even despiteful gaze, of his former best friend.

"Riku…why are you siding with the Heartless?" Sora winced as he felt the Heartless' blades lightly brush against his back.

"The Heartless obey me now, Sora." Riku answered, the contempt he felt towards Sora clearly showing on his face. "Now I have nothing to fear."

Right now, Sora didn't care if Riku hated him. It was like Akira said, maybe he was just confused. Treading down the wrong path, and he didn't even realize it. All of the people he had seen, consumed by the darkness that had taken over their hearts…the fact it could happen to Riku…

"You're stupid!" Sora shouted suddenly, panic that his friend couldn't see his life was at risk making his voice raise. "Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart!"

Sora watched as Riku's eyes narrowed and he scowled down at him. "Not a chance. My heart's too strong."

"Riku…!" Sora trailed off, seeing that he wasn't getting through to him.

"I've picked up a few other tricks as well." Riku said almost casually but his voice hinted malice as he added on "Like this, for instance." Sora tensed as Riku raised his hand and pointed it towards his shadow.

Like in his reoccurring nightmares before the Heartless attacked, his shadow stirred then rose from the ground to stand in front of him. Riku drew satisfaction from the shocked look on Sora's face as he stared at his shadow come to life.

"No more messing around. You can go see your friends now." Riku snapped his fingers and a trap door opened under Sora, dropping down to where his new friends were being held captive. Riku stared at the trap door for a second before turning to the pirate captain.

"Let's get under way, already." Riku ordered impatiently. He turned but paused as another thought occurred to him "And keep Sora away from Kairi until we're ready to land."

The shorter man beside the Captain raised a hand. "But, what about that other girl?"

Riku paused. "You don't need to worry over her. I have it under control." With this final orders being said, he stalked off towards his room on the ship.

The captain huffed, not liking the fact he was being ordered around on his own ship by a child. "That scurvy brat thinks he can order me around!"

He growled and turned to the short pudgy man beside him, who frowned. "What shall we do, Captain Hook?"

Captain Hook whirled around "Nothing!" He ducked down and gestured to the Heartless that had replaced his own devious crew of pirates for the journey. "The hold is crawling with Heartless. Let them keep an eye on the brats!"

The short man pushed his glasses further up his rather large nose and spluttered "But, Captain, you-know-who is also down-" Hook placed a hand over the man's mouth, effectively silencing him.

"Shh…did you hear that, Smee? Oh, that dreadful sound!" He wailed.

Smee struggled from Hook's grasp "No, Captain." His attempts to move away were futile as the Captain grabbed his man's shoulders and shook him back and forth

"Are you quiet sure? Did I imagine it?" A few seconds passed as the two strained their ears for any of the 'dreadful sound.' But nothing made a sound except the creaking of the ship as it cut a pathway through the ocean.

Hook groaned and placed a hand on his forehead "Oh, my poor nerves…"

***KH***

Sora was chucking nervously as he stared down at the crushed forms of Donald and Goofy. "Thanks…That would've hurt, if it wasn't for your cushions."

Donald just glared up at him. "Why does this always happen?!" He screeched in frustration.

"But hey-I've finally found Kairi!" Sora said excitedly.

Goofy smiled slightly "You don't say?"

Sora's smiled widened "Yeah! It was definitely Kairi! She's on this ship!"

"All right!" Goofy cheered "Then let's go up and talk to her."

Donald smiled kindly. "Sounds great. Okay, but first…how about getting off!"

"Oh." Sora laughed "Sorry." He stood up and then helped Donald and Goofy up as well before pausing, concern written all over his face "Hold up…where's Akira?"

Goofy and Donald both froze. "We thought she was with you." Donald frowned as Sora's face crumpled further "Well I thought she was with you!"

Goofy patted Sora on the back "Well fretting won't help us find her! Don't worry, Akira's strong I'm sure she's fine!"

Sora sighed. "I guess…I just hope she isn't hurt."

***KH***

I stared up at the wooden ceiling, feeling absolutely useless. The ropes around my wrist were tied behind my back in such a way that I couldn't summon the Heartblade unless I wanted to impale myself.

Huffing in irritation, I cast my gaze around the room I was in. Despite the fact I had walked around the room several times before, I decided to do another sweep.

The room held no objects I could use to cut the rope…well no objects I could reach anyways. I curse my small size…There was also no way of escape, besides the windows which lead to a straight drop into a wide ocean. Definitely not a way out when I couldn't move my arms.

I turned to the door I had already rammed into numerous times with a scowl. Mustering up my strength I rushed towards the door and threw all my weight against it. The door suffered no damage but I was deflected onto the ground. Groaning, I realized that little charade had caused the ropes to cut through my skin.

Sora and the others could be mortally wounded somewhere, and here I was contained by a door and some rope. A soft yet sweet ring of small bells startled me out of my thoughts. I glanced over to the window and saw a tiny glowing ball of light hovering in cautiously. I squinted my eyes and gasped when I saw the faint outline of a fairy.

The fairy seemed to be scanning the room but it paused when it saw me. With a flash of light, she zoomed over to me, fluttering her wings. I looked at her in awe and saw her eyes flash with pity as she began to back towards the window. Seeming slightly regretful, she darted back out the window.

I sighed, guess I'm not who she was looking for. I stood up, eyes falling on the accursed door with a glare. No way was I going to wallow in self-pity and wait to be rescued! I crouched and got ready to charge the door again.

***KH***

Sora jumped up on the small crate to peer out the small opening in the door. They had tried charging it, but the door had obviously been barred. And looking out he could see hordes of Heartless lurking outside the door, acting as guards.

He stepped down and let Donald and Goofy see out too. Donald stepped down with a worried frown "What are we going to do? There are so many Heartless outside…" Sora sighed but put on a determined face "We have to find a way out of this place and find Akira."

The sound of someone clearing their throats made the three boys whirl around quickly. "How ya doin' down there?" A young boy with ginger hair smiled cheekily down at them "Looking for a way out?"

Donald growled and crossed his arms, suspicious of this boy "Who are you?"

"Me?" The boy jumped up in the air and, to Sora's amazement, hovered in place. The boy then held out a hand in greeting. "I'm Peter Pan." A smirk made its way across his face slowly "I'm the answer to your prayers!"

Donald and Goofy started in shock at the empty space between Peter's feet and the ground "He's floating…!" Peter flicked his feet back and forth lazily to rise even higher as he chuckled.

Sora blinked "I'm Sora…Were you captured as well?"

Sora stretched his own hand out to shake Peter's, but it was quickly snatched back at the mention of capture. "Me?" He let out a laugh "Ha! Only _dumb_ people let themselves get caught!" Sora twitched and let his hand drop.

"I'm just waiting for someone." Peter stated while looking around the room.

"Who?" Sora barely got the question out of his mouth before a sparkle was seen in the corner of his eye. He tilted his head back as a flash of light flew past him quickly.

"You're too slow Tinker Bell." Peter scolded. The light faded in intensity and revealed a small girl with fluttering wings hovering in front of Peter. "This is Tinker Bell, she's a fairy." Peter introduced them to her.

Donald gasped "Fairy?"

Goofy chuckled "A-hyuck! How beautiful!" Tinker Bell smiled at Goofy before turning back to Peter and making a soft sound, like bells ringing. Peter seemed to be able to understand exactly what she was saying however, and smiled.

"Great job! So you found Wendy?" Tinker Bell nodded then continued, causing Peter to blink in confusion "Huh? Hold on…" More jingling of bells, this time with urgency. "There are _two_ other girls on here?" Sora tensed. Kairi and Akira…

Peter waved a hand "Okay, we'll just have to rescue them as well-" Tinker Bell flitted around Peter's head, chiming in what seemed like an annoyed manor. "Are you crazy?" Peter scoffed "No way I'm gonna leave Wendy there!"

Donald laughed as the small fairy glowered at him. "Aha! She must be pretty jealous!" Thinker Bell zipped over to Donald, lifted a foot back, then swung it forward as hard as she could. It nailed Donald and he held his throbbing beak "Ow…" The fairy crossed her arms and nodded in satisfaction as Sora tried to conceal a snicker behind his hand.

Tinker Bell then started to fly away quickly and Peter yelped, jumping up. He took his hat off and waved it around, trying to catch her "Hey, Tink! Wait up! You found another exit, right?" The fairy dodged the attempts to capture her and angled her head up with a humph.

"What, up?" Peter looked up and smiled when he saw a grate placed over an escape route in the wall. "We can get out through here?" Tinker Bell nodded. "Good job, Tink!" She bowed her head slightly in embarrassment, giving him a shy smile.

Sora watched as Peter removed the grate and start to fly through, not waiting for them "Wait!" Peter paused and looked down at them. "How can we get out that way?" Peter's expression became confused. "We can't fly like you guys." Sora explained.

The young boy quirked an eyebrow and scratched his head "Can't fly? It's easy!" With that being said he grabbed Tinker Bell's wings and started patting her gently. Tinker Bell squirmed as glittering dust scattered over the trio. "A little pixie dust for you …"

Sora held out a hand and watched as the sparkles gathered in his palm. "Now you're as free as a bird!" Peter declared. "Come on, try flying!"

Sora looked at him skeptically "It can't be that easy…" He paused as Donald launched himself off the ground with a quack. His arms waved around wildly as he hovered for a second then fell to the ground with a painful _smack_.

He groaned and Goofy joined Tinker Bell in laughing as Donald glared at them. Peter frowned "What a bother…here grab this rope." He threw the end of the rope down.

"_Now_ you give us the rope…" Sora muttered as he grabbed the prickly fabric.

***KH***

"Okay…maybe I need a break…" I whispered, lowering myself onto the couch. I examined the new bruises on my arm gotten from ramming the door. "Stupid door…" I growled in frustration "Stupid rope. Stupid ship. Stupid Riku!"

I jumped as the door I had tried to knock down was suddenly flung open. I quickly lay down, mirroring the position I had woken up into. I narrowed my eyes to allowed the slightest view. Through the blurred vision I made out the figures of the pirate captain and…Riku. I stayed silent and slowed my breathing to watch the scene unfolding in front of me.

"What?!" The outraged captain yelled "So Wendy's not one of the chosen ones?"

Riku disregarded the captain's anger and spoke in his new uncaring voice. "There are seven, supposedly." He watched the older man's expression as he continued "And Maleficent says she's not one of them."

The frustration and anger rose on the captain's face in a shade of red as Riku turned. "Hoist anchor as soon as possible. Leave all the dead weight behind, including her."

"After all the trouble of capturing her?" He argued loudly and glared at the teen "You seem to have no trouble catching the girl you needed!"

Riku shook his head slowly as the captain continued to rant. "And why _those_ seven? _Why_ is that brat so important? _What_ is Maleficent planning anyway?!"

"Who knows." Riku shrugged dismissively. "As long as it means getting Kairi's heart back, I couldn't care less."

The pirate huffed in exasperation "You're wasting your time!" Riku stiffened at the Captain's dismissive tone. "The Heartless devoured that girl's heart. I'll stake my other hand it's lost forever."

My heart throbbed and Riku turned to face the captain, anger blazing "I'll find it no matter what!" The captain remained silent until a voice rang through a device on the wall hesitantly.

"Uh, Captain…" The captain stalked over to the device and spoke into it slowly "What?"

"The prisoners have escaped!" He spluttered. I watched Riku glance at the captain with a raised eyebrow. "What's more…" The voice continued "Peter Pan is with them."

The captain straightened quickly "Blast that Peter Pan!" He snarled. "All right, then! Bring the hostage to me captain, Smee! Hop to it!"

"Y-Yes sir." Smee replied. The captain then turned and exited the room.

Riku paused before he laughed coldly "I've seen you fake sleep before, Akira. I'm not stupid." I stiffened and he snorted. "Might as well acknowledge my existence now."

I opened my eyes hesitantly to meet his. They seemed…strained. Not as bright as they used to be back on the islands. Those carefree days were far behind us now.

"Riku…Sora and I are trying to help you…We're trying to find Kairi too." I whispered. His gaze hardened.

"Sora is not helping by parading around with those idiots!" He spat out. "But _you_ are helping…whether you like it or not."

I opened my mouth to speak but I swallowed my words as he glared at me. He then turned and started towards the door, snapping his fingers as he went. Heartless rose from the ground, swords drawn and pointing at me.

I winced and watched Riku leave without another word. Closing my eyes, I struggled to keep my breath calm as my eyes watered from the pain of abandonment and betrayal by a friend. "Riku…why?"

***KH***

Sora sliced through another Heartless, looking around the misty room. Akira was nowhere to be seen and he was starting to get worried. He knew she was smart and would probably be slightly insulted he was this worried about her safety, but he couldn't help it.

These feelings were strange, they made his stomach twist in knots and his heart beat painfully fast. He thought of how his heart started whenever he saw Akira and decided they were actually rather nice feelings to have…if a bit confusing and weird at times.

His thoughts were interrupted as Peter called him over to a ladder in the corner of the room. He glanced around the room once more before climbing up. As soon as they had climbed the ladder, Peter gasped and flew up towards the ceiling.

Sora watched as a young girl in a blue dress that matched her eyes looked through the netting at Peter. "Wendy!"

Peter floated closer and the girl smiled. "Peter! You came to rescue me!"

Peter nodded. "I'll be right up!"

Wendy tensed and looked back at something Sora couldn't see "Please hurry! The pirates are coming!"

Peter whipped out his dagger and started to saw an opening through the ropes. "Hold on, I have to take care of this netting…"

As Peter worked on making an opening big enough to fit Wendy through, Sora walked into the girl's view and called out, hesitating slightly "Wendy?"

Wendy looked over at Sora with a tilted head "Yes?"

"Are there two other girls in there with you?" Sora wasted no time in getting the question out and Wendy nodded.

"Oh, why, yes. But only one and she seemed to be asleep." He clenched his fist. "She hasn't budged an inch." Wendy added.

Sora jumped, trying to get a look of who it was. He saw a glimpse of purple clothing and a yellow wrist band and knew it was Kairi. "Kairi?" No response "Kairi!" The whole group seemed to watch with barely contained anticipation as the girl slowly moved her hand, in what seemed like an attempt to reach the voice calling out to her.

Sora reached out his own hand and watched as Wendy bolted up when there was a groan of wood and a loud knock. His hand stayed in place and he frowned as sadness rose inside him. Something was wrong with Kairi. He was too late to save her.

Suddenly her hand twitched and she took a deep breath. Sora couldn't suppress the joyous laugh that rose in his throat, maybe he wasn't too late. He could still save her!

His hopes were dashed however when a loud crash was heard, followed by the shriek of Wendy. The slight glimpse of Kairi was dragged away and Sora cried out in desperation. Peter, who had begun to saw even faster when Wendy screamed, finally made a hole in the rope big enough to fit through.

He wriggled though, calling out to Sora without turning "Come on, we have to follow them!"

"But wait-Peter! We still can't fly!" Sora shouted after him. Peter didn't hear him or didn't care because he flew off quickly with a enraged yell.

Sora sighed and hung his head. A hand placed on his shoulder and Sora looked back to see Goofy and Donald looking at him, concern for him clearly showing. He mustered up a smile then turned his head and let it drop.

Stacking up boxes and crates that were piled in the room, they made a sort of staircase leading up to the hole Peter made in the netting. Peering around the room, he saw Peter bent over the unconscious figure of Wendy.

Peter carefully lifted her head off the floor "Wendy…Wendy wake up!" The girl remained asleep however, but a familiar figure started darting around Peter's head chiming loudly. "Come on, Tink!" Peter waved a hand around, trying to shoo her away "Not now!"

Tinker Bell paused then flew off, tears forming in her eyes. Sora felt a twinge of pity for her, but there was nothing he could do to help with jealousy problems.

"Sora, this is as far as I can go. I've gotta help Wendy." Peter sighed.

Sora nodded "It's alright. I understand."

Goofy nodded "Thanks for helping us escape!"

"Hope Wendy feels better soon." Donald added.

Sora took a moment to run a hand through his hair, and to calm his rapidly beating heart. _It's okay,_ he mentally reassured himself. _Everything's going to be fine._

Standing up and looking towards the door that the Heartless had taken Kairi, they set off at a run.

***KH***

I huffed in irritation as the Heartless prodded me with the swords, another warning. I was mildly surprised I wasn't run through with their swords already. Obviously they were assigned to guard, not kill.

Several times I had tried to goad them into accidentally cutting my rope, but these Heartless were regrettably smarter than ones in previous worlds.

Suddenly, the Heartless melted into the shadows of the floor. I titled my head in confusion. Slacking off on the job or dismissed…? My confusion was solved when Riku stepped in through the stupid door that wouldn't open, cradling a sleeping girl in his arms. Hold on…that sleeping girl…My eyes widened "Kairi!"

Kairi didn't respond to my shouts, only continued to sleep, chest rising and falling faintly. Riku glared down at me "Time to go Pure Heart." He nudged me off the couch and I stepped back as he summoned a dark portal.

"You're crazy if you think I'm going with you! You're messed up in the head Riku!" A comment that would've made everyone chuckle and giggle had we been back on the islands. He rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers again, causing the pirate Heartless from before to form a circle around us. I gulped nervously as they began to move slowly towards the swirling dark tendrils.

A familiar voice cried out causing me to stiffen. "Akira!" I whirled around to see Sora staring in horror at what was happening. I felt panic well up inside me as we neared the portal, adrenaline rushing. This was certainly a now or never sort of moment.

When I could feel the cold of the darkness snapping at my heels, I crouched, then put all my strength into a jump. The swords nicked my legs as I tumbled down beside Sora. I groaned then glanced back to see Sora standing in front of me, Keyblade drawn.

Riku scowled at me then stepped back into the portal with Kairi. "Riku! Wait!" Sora stepped forward but then resumed his tense stance as a shadow rose in front of him. A shadow that was an exact mirror image of himself.

I struggled to my feet and backed up slightly, bumping into someone from behind. I sighed in relief as the ropes were cut and healing warmth surrounded my wrists. Tilting my head back, I saw Donald and Goofy giving me thumbs up. I nodded then summoned the Heartblade and ran up beside Sora.

"Alright, let's take this thing down!" I cheered, ecstatic to finally be able to hit something. The fact the shadow looked like Sora threw me off at first, but I learned quickly not to go easy on it. Not only did it have its own shadow Keyblade, but it also had sharp claws which it would use for close range shots.

The shadow sunk into the ground and appeared behind Sora, swinging the Keyblade horizontally. Sora grunted as the force sent him sprawling onto the floor. I ran up and jumped over Sora, adding the momentum of falling into the downwards swing.

Shadow Sora hissed and drew back, holding the Keyblade in a defensive position. I helped Sora up as Goofy ran past, pushing the shadow into the blazing fireball sent by Donald, followed by a thunder. Goofy jumped back as the shadow was jolted and we watched it sink into the floor.

I tensed and looked around, looking for any sign of the shadow. A dark flash beside Sora alerted me to the attack and I raised the Heartblade, casting blizzard. The shadow faded and I blinked in confusion when Goofy let out a yelp.

Turning around I saw five more shadows. I groaned, great it splits into other shadows. The fake shadows seemed to fade when attacked, so Donald cast another thunder. Four of the shadows faded while one was momentarily stunned. The real one.

Sora ran up, holding the Keyblade back then thrust it forward, impaling the shadow through its nonexistent heart. Darkness began bubbling around the feet of the shadow, which was frozen in place. Suddenly the shadow was sucked down into the darkness at its feet.

I smiled in satisfaction but squeaked as a warm body slammed into my side. Giggling slightly as strands of hair tickled my face, I hugged Sora back. "I was so worried…" He murmured.

I blinked in surprise but patted his back "Hey…it's alright…I'm fine!" He just shook his head and nuzzled me, causing my giggles to increase.

He pulled back and looked at me, and I had to put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from hugging me again. Smiling I kissed his cheek, causing pink to dust across his cheeks. Smugness rose inside me as I remembered him kissing my cheek in the Gummi Ship and I decided to use his words as well.

"I knew that would make you feel awkward! You're just so funny when you're flustered!" He paused then shoved me lightly.

Goofy chuckled "Glad you're safe, Akira!"

Donald rolled his eyes but I could see a slight smile from him as well. "Okay okay, break it up love birds! We still have to find a way off this world."

We walked towards the accursed door and I held out my arms. "Please…allow me." I pushed open the door slowly, laughing manically. The boys walked through cautiously, watching me with rather confused expressions.

The scent of the sea and coolness of the breeze on deck was welcome, bringing with them nostalgic feelings of home. A cold laugh stopped us in our tracks. I turned to see the pirate captain surrounded by Heartless, pretending to examine the hook on his hand.

"Quite a codfish, that Riku! Running off with those girls-" I cleared my throat and he glanced up, his evil know-it-all moment ruined. He glared at me "That_ girl_ without even saying goodbye."

I felt a nudge and saw Sora step up, clenching his fists. "Run off where? Tell me, where did he go?" He swiped his Keyblade at the end of his sentence, adding promise of a beating if he didn't tell.

The Captain smirked, undaunted by Sora's threat. "To the ruins of Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent resides."

Donald and Goofy gasped "Maleficent!"

The Captain paused and perked up, as if remembering something "Ah-but you won't be going there anytime soon." Sora growled and I tensed as the pirate held a hand out to the short man in a striped shirt beside him.

The short man pulled a lantern from behind him and handed it to the Captain, who took it and held it out for us to see. I gasped when I saw the little fairy from earlier inside, banging against the glass. The Captain gave a devious smile "Unless you intend to leave your little pixie friend behind?"

"Tinker Bell!" Sora shouted out and the fairy pounded on the glass harder.

"You coward!" Donald growled.

The Captain found this to be extremely funny as he bent over laughing "Call me what you will! I am a _pirate_."

The Heartless stepped forward and surrounded our group at the wave of the Captain's hand. "Hand over the Keyblade and I'll spare your lives." I tensed and glanced at Sora whose head was hanging. "Be glad I'm merciful, unlike the Heartless."

"Are you crazy?" I shouted loudly.

"If you prefer…" The Captain stepped aside, red cloak swishing. "You can take a nice long walk off the plank into the freezing ocean instead."

A sudden ticking noise made the Captain visibly stiffen. He turned towards the noise slowly, a look of utmost terror on his face. "T-That noise…" He spluttered and scooted over to the railing of the ship then wailed "It's him! The crocodile that took me hand!"

He tossed the lantern with Tinker Bell in it up in the air and it was caught by the small man. Within a matter of seconds, the Captain was up on the upper deck "He's after me other hand! Smee, you take care of them!"

Smee's eyes widened slightly "Aw, come on Captain…" The crocodile jumped out of the water and snapped his jaws, sending the Captain scrambling for his captain's cabin. Smee sighed then turned to our group, seeming to be slightly nervous. The Heartless separated Sora from the group and I made a move to attack but he shook his head.

"Okay, kiddo, you don't care what happens to Tinker Bell? Or are you gonna…give me the Key?" The Heartless backed Sora onto the end of the stretch of wood and I watched him go, gritting my teeth when he silently mouthed the word no when I summoned the Heartblade.

A voice above all our heads caused me to look up. "Fly, Sora!" A saw a shadow float around the mast and strained my eyes to see it better. "Just believe, and you can do it! Think happy thoughts!" He added.

Sora glanced up, smiling slightly. He then closed his eyes and I shrieked in shock as he jumped off the plank, headed straight towards the croc's mouth. I rushed to the railing and leaned over to see him come to a stop right out of reach of the gaping jaws.

I blew out a breath of relief as Donald and Goofy cheered. Sora rushed up, and looked over the ship, his laughs filled with shock and glee. "He's flying…?" I started at him as he started doing flips in midair.

"Look! I'm flying!" He shouted happily.

"Uh-oh, this is bad…" Smee panicked "I have to tell the Captain-" The figure from above suddenly cam swooping down and snatched the captured Tinker Bell from under his nose. Peter hovered by Sora and opened the door to the lantern, successfully freeing Tinker Bell.

"Peter Pan!" Sora gasped "You came back! Thanks!"

Peter smiled "Hey, don't mention it. You stuck around for Tink. Of course I'm going to stick around for you!" The small fairy hovered over to Sora and pecked him on the cheek.

I laughed "Quite the ladies' man, hey Sora?" I called up at him. He laughed again then summoned the Keyblade.

"You're all going down!" He yelled, diving into the Heartless with Peter Pan by his side. I slashed one of the distracted Heartless, and they scattered, seeming to realize the fight was a hopeless one.

But soon, new Heartless arrived, ones with wings. "No fair! This guy is flying!" Donald screeched in frustration as another one of his spells missed the target.

"Come on you guys! Just believe!" Sora cheered.

He flew between us. "Picture a happy thought, believe with your heart you can fly, and you will!"

Goofy put a finger to his chin in thought, then threw himself into the air, flying away while flapping his arms "A-hyuck! I can fly!"

Donald and I watched him fly off, not so gracefully, but still flying none the less. I closed my eyes and gathered my thoughts, telling myself to believe. Believe in the impossible, think happy thoughts. When I opened my eyes, I was hovering a few inches off the floor.

I squealed and waved my arms around, drifting lazily though the air. A cry of indignation alerted me to Donald's failed attempts at flying. "B-But I'm a _duck_!" I giggled and drifted past him, earning a knock on the head by his wand.

With all of us (but Donald) fighting from the air, the Heartless group was eliminated in no time. "Now the only one left is Captain Hook!" Peter stated, floating down towards the door of the Captain's cabin. We settled down on either side of the door to Peter's instructions, remaining quiet. "Watch this…"

Peter knocked on the door, and a startled yelp resulted inside the room. "Is that you, Smee? Did you finish off those squirts?"

Peter covered his mouth with a hand, silently laughing. He then pinched his nose and spoke, imitating the nasally voice of Smee. "Aye, Captain. They walked the plank, every last one of 'em."

The door was slammed open as the Captain stepped forward, looking around eagerly "Good job, Smee!" Peter drew his dagger and inched forward quietly as the Captain looked around. "Smee? Where are you!"

Peter came a little closer, then pricked Captain Hook's backside with his dagger. Hook yelped and jumped in the air, holding his pricked rear. I laughed as the man whirled around, staring at Peter in shock. Peter snickered "Actually, I threw every one of your cowards into the ocean Captain." Peter said in a sing-song voice, adding heavy sarcasm on the 'Captain'.

Hook spluttered, hardly able to get his words out. "P-Peter Pa-Blast you, Pan!" Captain Hook's face slowly turned red as Peter laughed louder.

"Ready to make a splash, you codfish? Now it's your turn to walk the plank!" He jeered.

We all took to the air as the Captain charged, making him smack into the wall. Goofy lifted the scowling Donald up into the air and placed him on the rope netting connected to the mast. He aimed spells at the Heartless beginning to appear, drawn to the darkness showing in this clumsy pirate captain.

I dived down, dodging his lunging swords and knocking him aside with the Heartblade. Sora came from behind and forced him down with one swing, leaving the way for Peter to swoop down and stab his dagger into the Captain. He yelped and stood up, turning red from the fury.

He jumped up, grabbing Sora's foot and dragging him down to the ship's floor then unleashing a flurry of attacks with his sword. Sora could dodge most since the captain became clumsy with anger, but was nicked a few times before he was able to get out of range.

Sending Hook into a blind rage was a good strategy, as it made his swordsman skills sloppy, and it was so easy to make it happen. Peter called him a codfish and we would pick up the chant, laughing as his face turned red. Then we would dive down and attack, sending him sprawling onto the deck.

Pretty soon, Captain Hook was left panting and ruffled, looking very much like a fail of a pirate. He aimed a swipe at Peter, but missed horribly, causing Peter to laugh madly. Hook growled "No more playing around!" He charged for Peter, not seeing the obvious detail that Peter was hovering near the railing.

He dodged out of the way, hands behind his head and legs crossed, sending Hook over the edge of the ship. We all ran over to the edge and peered down, watching Hook surface, spluttering and coughing. A large crocodile was slowly edging its way closer, seeming to be smiling as it spotted its next victim.

The Captain screamed and swam faster than I'd ever seen anybody swim, away from the croc. Smee was rowing peacefully in a small life boat in the distance when Captain Hook passed him, screaming loudly "Help me Smee!"

Smee rowed after the wailing man quickly. "C-C-Coming Captain!"

Peter was laughing so hard he sank to the floor of the ship, rolling around. I giggled too and turned to Sora, but stopped when I saw he wasn't laughing. He wasn't even smiling. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder "…Sora?"

Goofy and Donald were watching from the background, and their whispering skills had not gotten any better from when we first met them. "Uh, Kairi couldn't wake up," Goofy muttered "so maybe she's really lost her-"

Donald glared at him "Shh!" Goofy gulped and placed his hands over his mouth.

"I still can't believe it." Sora whispered and I had to strain to hear his words. I soon regretted listening closely because he jumped up, cheering loudly "I really flew! Wait 'til I tell Kairi!" He paused and looked at me, a goofy grin on his face. "I wonder if she'll believe us. Probably not."

I smiled "Might want to cover your head, in case she thinks you're mumbling about your crazy dreams again."

Peter walked over, chucking "You can bring her to Neverland sometime." He suggested, "Then she can try it herself."

"If you believe, you can do anything, right?" Sora asked.

"Of course!" I replied happily.

Sora smiled. "We'll find Kairi. I know I will."

He leaned back and started up at the night sky ablaze with stars. "There's so much we have to tell her-about flying, the pirates, and everything else that's happened."

I nodded. "We could write a fairy tale about our lives."

As Sora and I talked about what we needed to share with Kairi, Peter flew out of the Captain's cabin, adorned with Hook's red cloak and feathered hat. "Come on! Onward to take Wendy back home!" He called Tinker Bell over and cried out "Time for the first flight of Captain Peter Pan's pirate ship!"

Tinker Bell rose up and started flying around, scattering a large amount of pixie dust over the whole ship. With a large groaning of wood, the ship lurched then slowly rose from the waters into the air. Peter flew over to the wheel of the ship and steered it inland, laughing madly.

I leaned over the edge and gasped as the beautiful landscape revealed itself. Since it was night, I could only imagine what the island would look like during the day. Peter stopped the ship over a large, rather odd looking tree in the middle of an empty field.

Before leaving the ship, Peter grabbed a large treasure chest that was within the cabin. Throwing it over board, I watched as six little figures dressed as animals scrambled out of the trunk of the tree. They threw themselves at the treasure, ending up in a tangled help pulling at each other's hair and costume's ears.

"What's wrong with those guys?" Donald muttered, gesturing to the roughhousing boys.

Goofy laughed "They're Peter Pan's followers!" I bent down and picked up a tiny toddler, dressed as a skunk. I gasped and smiled widely.

"Awww! You're just the cutest thing ever!" The little boy stuck his tongue out at me, laughed, then jumped out of my arms to join in fighting for treasure. I shook my head sadly "They grow up so fast…"

"What's this?" A chubby boy dressed as a bear held up a crumpled piece of paper. A blonde boy dressed as a fox scoffed a knocked the paper out of the other boy's hand.

"Just trash!" The paper hit Donald in the head, and Sora bent down to straighten out the paper.

"It's Ansem's report!" He declared.

Sora tucked the paper in his pocket carefully as the rowdy boys with treasure clumped in their hands and dumped in their costumes climbed onto the ship. Peter flew Wendy up and the set sail, headed for her home.

***KH***

"Wow…I've never seen the clock tower up close like this before." Wendy stared in awe and gasped as she looked around, taking in the view.

Bells rang out over the city as the hands on the clock struck twelve, signaling the arrival of midnight. The face of the clock starting glowing and to my surprise a Keyhole appeared.

Wendy tilted her head in confusion "What's that?"

"A Keyhole!" I said happily.

"Peter!" Sora waved to the boy standing at the wheel of the ship "Can I get off the ship for a minute?"

Peter blinked "Sure." His eyes widened as Sora started taking a step off the ship. "But you can't-" He paused as Sora fully stepped off, floating in midair without the help of any pixie dust. He shakily made his way closer to the Keyhole and Peter whistled.

"Whoa, pretty impressive!"

I couldn't help but nod in agreement. Sora turned back to me with a smile "Come on, Akira!" I stood back, waving my hands in front of me "No no no! Sora it's too high!" He smirked and floated over, pulling on my arm.

"Sora-Sora no!" I shrieked when he pulled me over the edge of the ship. I would have dropped like a dead weight if not for Sora holding me up.

"Akira…you need to get over your fear and believe in yourself!" he grunted. I whined and closed my eyes.

"You're not going to fall! You don't have to be afraid! I'll protect you." I stopped struggling and glanced up at him. His smile was the same as always but there was a gleam in his eyes, I gleam I've never seen before. And suddenly I wasn't afraid.

I felt my body become light as I drifted upwards, Sora let go and helped steady me as I turned towards the clock hesitantly. Sora summoned the Keyblade and I called the Heartblade to my hand as well. The light grew from the Keyblade and shot into the Keyhole, the lock echoing through the streets.

I settled down onto the floor of the ship and fell to the floor, rubbing the solid ground and sobbing. Sora rolled his eyes with a smile but paused when he realized the absence of two members of the group. "I wonder what Donald and Goofy are doing."

I stood up and glanced around "I didn't see them much on the ride over here…what's all that noise anyways?" We both listened to the continued yelling and chanting of 'rock-paper-scissors' behind a closed door. Pushing the door open, we were greeted by the site of Donald jumping up and down cheering "I win!"

He held up a glittering jewel "This is mine!" I chuckled slightly as Sora shook his head and muttered "What is wrong with this duck?"

***KH***

"_Hey, Sora, Akira." A seven year old Sora and Akira turned to glance at an eight year old Riku as he called their names. _

_"Hm?" _

_Riku leaned forward, a glint in his eye "When we grow up, let's get off this island." He shook his head and continued speaking, excited for the future "We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"_

_Sora nodded, crossing his hands behind his head while Akira giggled "Sure." _

_Sora sighed. "But isn't there anything fun to do now?" _

_Riku started to lead them out of the secret place, hand propped on his hip "Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house?"_

_Akira and Sora both looked at Riku in slight confusion. _

_"She arrived on the night of the meteor shower!" _

_"Oooooh!" They both nodded. _

_"Last one to the boat is a rotten egg!" Sora cried suddenly, Akira and him racing off. _

_But Riku lagged behind. Looking at the door with no handle, he saw a single glowing Keyhole. That certainly wasn't there before. He turned towards it, hypnotized by the soft glowing. _

Riku woke up, panting heavily, trying to recover his strength. He tried to stand up, but fell to his knees, his heart aching and twisting painfully. He glanced up through eyes narrowed in pain at the figure in front of him.

"It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel." Maleficent scolded. "Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your heart."

A sudden roar of rage echoed through the castle, causing Riku to whip around. He winced at the sudden action, but his curiosity was peaked. He turned to Maleficent with a raised eyebrow.

"A castaway." She answered his unspoken question. He felt the smirk work its way onto his face; this beast would not last long here. "Though his world perished, his heart did not." Maleficent put a hand over her own heart, fake sympathy on her face.

"When we took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you." She assured Riku with a smile.

"He is no match for your power."

Riku frowned. "My power?"

Maleficent started down at the boy "Yes, the untapped power that lies within you." She came a little closer "Now, child, it's time you awakened that power and realized your full potential."

Her arms were spread wide as she called upon the darkness consuming his heart. A green glow surrounded Riku as he felt the powers coursing through him. He closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling. Now, he would fear nothing, but everything would fear him.

***KH***

Sora sighed as he sat on the couch, too tired to walk any further, but his mind was too active to allow him to sleep. He glanced at the table in the middle of the room and perked up when he saw the sketchpad from earlier placed on it.

Glancing around he tip-toed over to the table quietly, even though Akira was sound asleep in her room. He opened it then froze at the picture he saw. It was…of him. He was sitting on the paopu tree back on Destiny Islands.

The picture was…actually pretty good. He ripped out the page and closed the sketchpad, then headed back to his room with the picture.

If he ever went back to Neverland, this could be his new happy thought. His happy thought that made him fly before…He smiled to himself, humming happily as he remembered.

***KH***

_Hehehe! So what was Sora's happy thought? I'll leave that for you to imagine! Oh gosh…I'm nervous to write the next chapter. I always cry at that world _

_As always, hope you enjoyed the chapter! It would help if you reviewed, favorite it, follow, whatever! Just show the loooove! Please? _

_Until next chapter, bai! :D_


	14. Chapter 14: Break Before Battle

_AGHBAH….I might cry while writing Hollow Bastion…as I have already told you…Because I am sensitive…TT_TT _

_So I have decided to make that next chapter! Sora and Akira get a break from violence and go to 100 Acre Woods! YAAAAY. CHILDHOOD. Wait…them two alone…? Hehehe…fluff will ensue. _

_School has started again…*shot* I just hope it won't affect my updates too much. ANYWAYS enjoy the chapter!_

***KH***

"So…you're _sure _you have _no_ idea where my picture is?" I stood in front of Sora, poking his chest with every word I said.

He laughed "Of course! Maybe it just fell out when the pirate ship rammed us…?"

I raised an eyebrow and he laughed nervously before pointing behind me "What's that!"

I turned and felt a whoosh of air as Sora towards the cockpit. I shook my head and waved my fist at him "That's what I thought you thief!"

I followed him up the ladder quickly, watching as he darted behind a chair laughing. Running to the chair, I moved to block him off whenever he leaned in a certain direction. "What are you two-" Donald quacked as his face was shoved into the chair.

Sora pushed him down further to vault over the chair. I couldn't help but giggle as Donald peeled his face off the chair, grumbling. He then resumed whatever it was he was doing.

Sora darted around me, dodging my attempts to grab his shirt "What world are we going to next Donald?" He laughed as I tripped and fell trying to get over to him. Donald shrugged but paused as the flashing button alerted us to Cid trying to contact us.

Sora walked over to the button and pressed it, revealing a flailing Cid. So many words spewed from that man's mouth I couldn't believe he didn't faint before taking a breath.

"Whoa Cid, calm down!" We waved our hands around in attempts to show him we were all fine.

After taking in several deep breaths, Cid blurted out "What happened?!"

Sora looked at all of us then started telling the story of the pirate ship, Cid listening intensely. When Sora got to the part where Hook told us Kairi was at a world called Hollow Bastion, he froze.

"Wait! Did you say Hollow Bastion?" Sora nodded and Cid rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. "…I see, so Maleficent's lair is there…"

I tilted my head at his reactions "You know about that place?" Cid moved his head up and down slowly and Sora jumped forward.

"How can we get there?"

Cid sighed "Well with your current equipment, it's not enough to get you to Hollow Bastion." We all sighed and hung our heads. "Unless you found the other half to that navigation gummi that is…"

I frowned "I don't remember finding another gummi piece…"

Goofy suddenly perked up then dug a hand into his pocket, pulling out a small gummi piece with a laugh "Will this work?"

We started at Goofy in shock as he continued to laugh and sway slightly. "Goofy!"

He tossed the gummi to Sora, who held it out to Cid. He nodded in conformation that this was the other half.

"I got this from the treasures on the pirate ship." Goofy explained.

Donald slapped a feathered hand to his face "When did this happen?"

"For the upgrade, you guys must make a trip back to Traverse Town." Cid said. Sora's jaw dropped.

"What? But it takes so long to get there!"

Cid shrugged "Sorry kid, you have to take your ship to me. There's no other way to install the gummi."

"Thanks Cid…we'll be over there as soon as possible." I pressed the button to disconnect the conversation. Turning to Sora, I could see his face crumpled in disappointment.

As Donald finished the route to Traverse Town, I slowly crawled over to Sora and grabbed his foot "Gotcha! Now you have to tell me where you put my picture!"

Sora lifted his foot up then started to walk, dragging me behind him. I continued demanding for him to show me where my picture with hidden, but was forced to let go as he climbed down the ladder.

I looked down into the now smiling face of Sora as he waved from below "I'll never tell you! The picture is mine forever!" He let out an evil cackle then ran out of sight.

***KH***

I tried sneaking into Sora's room, since I figured my picture was hidden there somewhere, but each time I was foiled by Sora. I made a list of potential places my picture could be, and tried at least one every day as we made our way towards Traverse Town.

However they all ended in failure and led to Sora screaming like a girl as he acted like I was trying to find something extremely personal, like his underwear, leaving me to be the one blushing and spluttering like an idiot.

The last world we went to was stressful at first, but left us in high hopes for the future. The Gummi Ship traveled at high speeds as our laughter and joking continued each passing day.

Donald continued trying to fly, but all he could muster was a five second hover. We had to cover our ears after he crashed to the ground as the curses leaked from his mouth, about how since he was a duck he should be able to fly, which just led to snickers and giggles from the on looking trio of friends.

It was nice to have a break were we could ignore the impending doom lingering in the back of our minds.

Although it felt like it should have been longer in my opinion, we reached Traverse Town. The Gummi Ship landed and we hoped out, eager to see our friends again and get the Gummi Ship upgraded.

Running up to Cid, Sora basically threw the gummi piece at him, yelling "Install it fast!"

Cid caught the gummi piece with a startled shout then turned to glare at Sora. "Hey, installing a new gummi piece takes time! Even for an expert like me!"

Sora hung his head and I patted his back.

"I'll get started on it right now, so just find something to do while I'm working." With that being said, he walked off towards the Gummi Ship.

"Sora…?" Donald quacked, seeing Sora was still down.

"Now, just remember what Donald said to ya: no frowning, no sad faces." Goofy scolded him slightly.

I leaned down as Sora snapped his head up, looking at them with confusion.

"How can you be so cheerful? There's still no sign of your king." Sora pointed out the obvious as he raised his hands in question "Aren't you worried?" I nudged Sora lightly, hoping he would take the hint that his statement wasn't a very nice thing to bring up.

"Aw, phooey." Donald scoffed, crossing his arms.

"The king told us to go out and find the two keys," Goofy said with a smile "and we found you."

"So as long as we stick together, it'll all work out okay." I giggled and nodded my head in agreement, holding out my hand. Donald placed a hand over mine, Goofy following suit. Sora hesitated before he smiled and added his hand to the pile.

"Ya just gotta believe in yourself, that's all."

"Believe in yourself huh?" I smiled slightly, this seems to be coming up a lot lately.

"Just believe…" Sora murmured.

Suddenly his eyes clouded over and he relaxed immediately, I had to grab him before he fell to the ground. "I-Is he okay?" Goofy yelped in shock. I waved a hand in front of his dulled eyes in panic, but nothing happened.

"Sora?"

***KH***

_"Sora..."_

A voice called out to him, sounding so much like someone he knew…suddenly everything went white and he was flying towards a light. His arms spread wide, veered towards the light. As he entered it, the white flashed again, and when it faded he found himself in the middle of a very large library.

"What's going on…?" He looked around, but stepped back as a small figure darted past him. His eyes widened when he saw the familiar auburn hair and deep blue eyes, it was Kairi! But…she was younger, maybe six or seven. And this library…there wasn't one like this on Destiny Islands. "Where am I?"

The young Kairi giggled and Sora turned to see her sitting down while staring wide eyed with innocent curiosity at an older woman with a kind smile. Her gray hair was pulled back into a bun and her blue eyes were the same shade as Kairi's. He wondered if they were somehow related. The older woman seemed to be telling the small Kairi a story, so he stepped in to better listen in.

"_Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light"_ The little Kairi giggled and bounced in place but quieted down as the older lady continued. _"Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts." _

Young Kairi's expression turned horrified, but she leaned in, eager to hear more. _"The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared." _Kairi sniffled, not liking the way this story was turning out.

The storyteller soothed the whimpering girl with a warm smile. _But the light wouldn't give up. It chose someone to protect the precious light. A child, much like you dear." _She patted Kairi causing the small girl to gasp and bring back her smile.

"_The child gathered together the small fragments of light surviving in the hearts of children. When they worked together, these children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now." _Kairi looked around the library in amazement and awe.

"_But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. The child knew this, and set off to find the light and set it free. They say that Pure Heart is still searching for a way to bring the light back, and that's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other." _Kairi frowned slightly and gave a little sigh.

"_But someday, that child will find a door to the innermost darkness, and will open it. And the true light will return." _Kairi's smile was quick to return at the hopeful ending of the story.

The older lady sat back with a sigh, lacing her hands together on her lap. _"So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away."_

Kairi placed a hand over her heart, staring at it with new found wonder. _"Do you understand, Kairi?"_ Before an answer could be said, the older figure disappeared, leaving the young Kairi alone. "Kairi?"

Then little Kairi was looking around, looking for something or someone. Sora reached out and tried to grab her hand, but then she too faded. Now he was the one alone. The white then flashed bright, and he became aware of other familiar voices calling his name.

***KH***

I shook him harder, shouting his name when nothing happened. His eyes fluttered and then snapped open and he bolted up "Huh?"

I slapped him upside the head "That's for worrying me! Do you need more sleep or something?"

Sora laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck "Um, yeah I guess so."

I continued to stare him down, completely sure sleep wasn't the issue here. He coughed into his hand then smiled widely "So, why don't we go back to the story book in Merlin's house?"

Goofy took off this hat and pulled out several folded up papers "I have the lost pages right here a-hyuck!"

Donald stared at Goofy and shook his head "When did…forget it I'm not asking anymore."

"Alright, I guess we'll go into the book to pass the time." I said, walking towards the Third District's door.

"It'll be a nice little break!" Sora added, fingers crossed behind his head.

When we got to Merlin's grotto, we placed each torn out paper where it seemed to fit, the book mending itself when we placed right. "So what…do we just jump in?" I poked the book when nothing happened to suck us in.

"I guess so." Sora said. "Donald could you hold the book open for us?" I watched as the duck opened the book hesitantly then held it out in front of him. He looked nervous; I guess if we were wrong we _would _run full speed into him.

Something warm wrapped around my hand and I glanced down to see fingers laced with mine. I smiled then ran and jumped. Donald screeched in alarm but our plan seemed to work, and we were sucked into the book.

I opened my eyes and watched as the faded out places in the book were filled with new pictures. A large tree slowly raised itself from the page while lazily swaying in a nonexistent breeze. We walked towards the large tree, hands still joined together. Walking through it, we arrived in another scene of the book.

It was beautiful and very peaceful. Birds chattered occasionally as I took in the scene. The tree was on top of a grassy hill will a small pond to the left of it. The bottom leaves of the tree were yellow in color and sometimes dropped to be blown across the ground.

The tree had numerous beehives hanging from it. Bees make honey, and from what I remember that little bear Pooh loved honey. So maybe he was here. As I walked forward though, I heard another voice yelling out in a timid voice "Hello, i-is anyone there?"

I squealed as a little pig walked out of a hollowed out log and looked around. It was so cute! "Wh-Wh-What am I to do? I'm all alone." It said while shaking.

"Pooh? Pooh? Where are you? It's me, Piglet." There was no answer and Piglet sighed.

"He's looking for that bear." Sora said.

"Maybe he's one of his missing friends, we should go help him!" I dropped Sora's hand and skipped up to the tiny animal.

Piglet stiffened and turned to look at me, hands covering its mouth in shock. Then with a yelp he ran away. I sniffled and hung my head "I'm not that scary…"

Sora followed Piglet behind the tree while I trailed behind dejectedly. We caught up with him before he could hide again, making him dance around nervously.

"Oh dear! I was j-just…N-Never mind. I'm sorry!" Sora crouched to the frightened animal's level.

"Don't be scared." He said soothingly "You're looking for Pooh, right?"

Piglet looked at Sora then me, surprised. "You know Pooh?"

We nodded and Piglet sighed in relief "Oh, y-you see, I-I have something for him." He started his nervous dance again. "I have to take it to Pooh right away!" Suddenly he turned around and laughed "Oh, Pooh!"

We stood up and walked over to Pooh, who was sniffing the air, eyes closed. "Oh, I believe I smell a delicious something." He paused to take another whiff of the air "A something like honey!"

"Pooh!" Piglet shouted, running up to give Pooh a hug. It was an awkward hug, considering Piglet was so small he only clung to the bear's stomach.

"Hello, Piglet. How have you been?" Pooh asked.

Piglet stopped giving Pooh a hug and hopped off. "Oh, I-I'm so glad to see you. I thought you'd gone away."

Piglet smiled "I brought wh-what you asked for." He chuckled then ran inside the log he was hiding in earlier. When he emerged, a bright blue balloon trailed behind him.

"Thank you, Piglet. Now I can finally have some honey!" Pooh cheered happily.

"Really? B-But how?" Piglet tilted his head, making his ears flop.

"I shall hold on to the balloon, and fly like a bee up the Hunny Tree, see." Pooh chuckled.

"Surely not. The balloon won't lift his weight! I should know I've tried!" Crossing my arms I looked at Sora who smiled slightly.

"I remember that. But I've learned not to trust rules of logic in other worlds."

Hm...he made a very good point.

"But, if you take their honey, won't the bees be angry?" Piglet pointed out. This question made Pooh pause and he hummed in thought. Suddenly he perked up when he saw us looking over at him.

"Oh no."

Pooh called us over, explaining how he added us into his ingenious plan. "If you could only chase away those bees, I'm quite certain I could get a small morsel of honey."

I frowned, how are we supposed to chase away angry bees?

"Would you help me get some honey?" Pooh pleaded.

"Should we help?" Sora whispered. I reluctantly nodded my head. We couldn't very well leave this cute bear to be attacked by bees.

A flapping of wings brought my attention to a branch of the tree. On it was the brown speckled owl that told us to find the rest of the story book pages. "Oh. Hello there, Owl." Pooh greeted him casually.

Owl raised a wing in greeting "Good day, Pooh. What are you doing?" When Pooh explained his plan, the owl smiled and spread his wings "Using a balloon to get some honey? Splendid idea!"

I slapped a hand to my face sliding it down slowly "Really? You sure about that?" I exclaimed quietly. No one but Sora heard me, I could tell by the smile that spread on his face.

"Allow me to offer a few pointers." He flew up the tree, explaining the honey was in the hollows of the tree. When Pooh gets close to the honey the bees will come after him and try to pop his balloon.

"Um alright…Sora give Pooh a boost?" I said nervously. Pooh held onto the balloon with both paws as Sora threw him into the air. Surprisingly, he started floating up slowly. I stood with my jaw dropped watching him fly.

Sora started to climb the tree quickly, hopping onto the first tree branch with Pooh. I followed, still in shock. I swatted the bees as they came from the beehive while Sora used aero to blow back the ones that came too close.

Pooh used the balloon to float up the tree, feasting on the honey filled in the hollows. Maneuvering from branch to branch to keep up with Pooh was a bit difficult. As he floated up higher, Sora and I couldn't reach him in time and the bees popped Pooh's balloon.

Sora yelped and held his hands out, catching the chubby bear. Unfortunately that unbalanced him and he slipped off the tree branch. I covered my mouth and watched as they both crashed on the grass.

I climbed down quickly, running to see Pooh sitting on Sora's stomach, patting his own stomach happily. "That was yummy in my tummy, but there's room for a bit more."

He stood up and hopped down onto the ground. Sora sat up, looking a bit stunned. "Sora are you okay?" I gasped.

He nodded slightly and blinked "That…hurt." He then started to giggle.

"You hit your head pretty hard huh Sora?" I asked while helping him up. He paused before nodding again. I put his arm around my shoulder and helped him walk back to the main page. As we arrived on the main page, a new pop up rose up and swayed in a nonexistent breeze.

Sora held his head in his hands and I glanced over at him "You alright?" He nodded and I sighed "I knew that was a bad idea!"

Sora stumbled a bit as we walked to the next part in the story but was otherwise unhurt, which I was extremely thankful for.

I mean I hate the fact of Sora getting hurt. He meant a lot to me and I would hate for something to happen to him…Meant a lot to me, isn't that like saying I'm starting to like him more than a friend?...Did I just think that? _Okay…stopping the thinking process going on here._

The next part of the story looked to take place in a vegetable garden. Standing on a small bridge over a creek, the land in front of us was tilled and the tops of vegetables were poking from the soil.

Following the trail made in the dirt by someone treading it numerous times, we walked up to a large tree with a door placed in the trunk.

"It says 'Rabbit' on the mailbox." I pointed out. Sora walked over and knocked on the door, receiving the immediate answer of:

"Nobody's home! And I'm out of honey!"

"Well then!" Sora huffed and placed his hands on his hips. I laughed and he dropped his pout, replacing it with a smile. A noise drew our attention to the side of the house, and we peered around the tree to see Pooh and Piglet looking into a tunnel made in a mound of dirt.

Above the tunnel was a wooden sign placed in the grass. It read 'Rabbit's House' with a bit of misspelling and backwards letters. "This world is so preschool-like it's adorable." I sighed.

Piglet turned to look up at us "Look, Rabbit's house c-came back!" He said happily "But it looks like Rabbit isn't home." He started to wring his hands nervously. "Pooh's been calling and calling, but the house says no one's there."

Cue hand meeting face in a facepalm by me.

"Who is this person named Nobody?" Pooh called into the tunnel. "Nobody, have you seen Rabbit?" He attempted to climb through the tunnel, back paws scrabbling against dirt. Deciding I had seen enough, I walked back over to the door and pushed it open.

"Hey, Rabbit! You're friends want to see you!" I called into the hollowed out tree used for a home. A yellow rabbit glanced at me for a second then whirled around as the sounds of someone making their way through the tunnel was heard.

"No! No Rabbit here! There's no one here!" Rabbit shouted. But his shouts were made in vain as the fuzzy figure of Pooh came tumbling out of the tunnel. Rabbit heaved a great sigh, hanging his head.

"Hello Rabbit." Pooh greeted the moping Rabbit happily.

Rabbit looked up and put on a smile "Why, P-Pooh. What a pleasant surprise…" He muttered. Piglet hopped from the tunnel and Rabbit looked past Pooh "Nice to see you, too, Piglet."

"Kind of reminds me of Donald." Sora whispered. I giggled, causing Rabbit to turn his attention back to us.

"Are these new friends?"

We nodded, giving Rabbit our biggest smiles. Rabbits pink noise twitched and he turned back to Pooh.

"P-Pooh, I'm sorry, but…I'm all out of honey at the moment." Pooh didn't seem to hear the poor animal as he walked off the middle of his sentence. Rummaging around the house, he kept muttering about smelling honey.

"I've nothing to give Pooh! Don't waste your time looking around!" Rabbit scowled slightly. I looked up into the roots of the tree that formed the ceiling and smiled.

"Hey look a honey pot!" I pointed to the pot wedged in the roots.

Rabbit stiffened then laughed nervously "H-Honey? Now, how did that get up there?"

"Sora it's too high for me…" I whined. Sora snickered then reached up and took the pot down.

Rabbit hung his head in defeat, his ears flopping dejectedly. "Would you like some, Pooh? Don't feel you have to, of course."

"Oh, thank you, Rabbit." Pooh cheered. "I would like just a small smackeral. I'm quite hungry." Sora handed Pooh the honey pot he wasted no time in starting to devour the sticky sweet substance.

"Um, Pooh Bear…" Rabbit raised a finger weakly as Pooh tipped the jar back, sticking his snout in. "You're not eating the whole pot, are you?" He received no response as Pooh stuck his paw in then licked the honey off. "Once you start, there's no stopping you, is there…" Rabbit sighed.

"I guess we finished this page. That was quick" Sora rubbed the back of his neck then shrugged and we started our way back to the main page. But when we reached the bridge, a cry for help stopped us in our tracks.

"H-Help! Please help Pooh!"

Sora and I ran back to the tree house, following Piglet's wails to see...Pooh stuck in the tunnel he crawled into to reach Rabbit. Piglet started his nervous dancing again as Pooh's sigh echoed through the house. "Oh, help and bother. I'm stuck again."

He wiggled his legs "I came in through this hole, so it must have shrunk." Rabbit was sitting in the background, shaking his head like he knew from the start this was going to happen.

"Maybe we can pull him the rest of the way through." Sora suggested, running outside.

At the other end of the tunnel was Pooh's head and arms, and he was sighing loudly. "Oh, how will I eat honey if I'm stuck in here?" He looked at Sora. "When it's lunch time, perhaps you could bring me a honey jar."

"No honey 'til you're unstuck!" Rabbit scolded loudly. He ran up to us, putting his face in his paws. "If Pooh doesn't slim down, my house will stay plugged up forever!" He wailed "If only there were something we could do…"

His head snapped up as he gasped "Wait, I know! A bit of carrot top juice will do the trick!" He hopped by us and pointed over to the vegetable fields. "I have a carrot patch on the other side of the stream."

Laughing loudly, he pushed us in that direction "Carrot top juice is just the ticket to slimming down a Pooh!" A loud _boing_ noise, like a spring, was heard causing Rabbit to stiffen and ears stand straight "Oh, no!" He bolted around the house.

Looking at the bridge that connected Rabbit's land to the woods, I saw an orange shape bouncing on its tail, quickly approaching our group. The wind rushed by me and I turned quickly to see Sora being knocked to the ground by said orange figure.

What looked like a tiger was crouching on Sora's chest, looking him in the face and laughing cheerfully. "Hey there! Name's Tigger! T-I-double-guh-RR. That spells Tigger!" He pointed to himself then paused, leaning in even closer to smush his nose against Sora's face. Poor Sora had no idea what had hit him and lay completely still, eyes wide.

Tigger looked from him to me and hummed "Well, now! I don't think I've ever seen you guys before!"

Pooh chuckled "Hello, Tigger. You've just bounced my new friend Sora. The one you haven't bounced is my other new friend, Akira."

Tigger sat up, still on Sora. "Hey, Pooh!" He greeted the stuck bear. "Say, you're lookin' mighty uncomfy today." Suddenly he hoped up and jumped on Sora's stomach causing the boy to grunt. Tigger paid no attention and continued to bounce "Is that some new exercise? Why, bouncin' around is a lot more fun."

With that being said he finally jumped off Sora, who lay on the ground, stunned. I took a moment to laugh at Sora's expression before helping him up. He wiped the dirt from his clothes, looking mildly disgruntled. "Sure there aren't any Heartless here, but for some reason I'm still in danger." He muttered.

I laughed as Sora rubbed his now aching stomach. "Why do you bounce around so much, Tigger?" I asked the hyper-active tiger. Tigger paused and looked at me, astonished I would ask such a question

"Why?" Before I could stop him I was tackled to the ground. "Cause bouncin' is what Tiggers do best!"

Standing up he peered around with one paw over his eyes "Speaking of which, my bouncin' spot has gone and disappeared!" He pushed off me and flipped through the air "So for now, this'll be my new bouncin' ground!" He declared.

I stood up, slightly winded. When I glanced at Sora he had a smirk plastered on his face. What's so funny mister?" I poked his chest and his smirk widened

"I like this world again."

Rabbit heaved another loud sigh "Tigger's bouncing will ruin my vegetables!" He gestured to the stuck Pooh, who was actually humming happily, seeming quite content despite the situation he was in. "And if we don't give Pooh some carrot top juice, he'll be stuck forever!"

He fell to our feet "Please help me! Keep Tigger away from my carrots!" He pleaded.

"He's not like Donald anymore; I don't think Donald would ever beg us for help." Sora said.

I hung my head and shook it. "So true...so true. Alright we'll help you Rabbit."

Rabbit smiled in relief "Oh thank you!"

A voice above our heads drew our attention from the bouncing Tigger. "This is quite a fix. But I have just the solution. Pay attention, now." Owl twirled down from the sky and landed next to us. After explaining what we had to do this time to help, we were on our own.

"I guess we'll have to let him bounce on us again." Sora hugged his stomach in horror. Tigger started bouncing around the carrot patch, and we had to cover the carrots with our bodies so Tigger would bounce on us instead. Not the best plan, but most of the carrots survived unharmed.

After diving to save a carrot, Tigger bounced off me to the side of the garden. Covering his face his exclaimed "What's goin' on? Nobody keeps up with Tiggers!" He reached back to examine his now limp tail "Maybe there's somethin' wrong with my tail…" Then he bounced off to find another spot to jump where he would be undisturbed.

Rabbit thanked us then gathered up the carrots and went inside to make the carrot top juice. I crouched by the river and started to splash water on myself to get the dirt off. A shove from behind caused me to tumble into the creek.

I came up spluttering to see Sora rolling on the ground laughing and clutching his stomach, which now hurt from laughing too hard. But he stopped laughing when my hand wrapped around his arm to pull him into the creek with me.

I covered my eyes as he made a big splash in the water. Now it was my turn to laugh at him when he came up spluttering. He pouted then pushed the water towards me, splashing it high. I gasped then jumped, sending a wave of water over him.

"That's for stealing my picture!" I shouted.

He gasped and placed a hand over his heart in fake hurt. "Me? Steal? From you? Never!" I shoved him under the water.

By the time Rabbit finished the carrot top juice, we were both sopping wet. A trail of water followed us into the house, causing Rabbit to look at us disapprovingly. He then sighed and smoothed his rabbit ears back "Oh, what a day! I gave Pooh the carrot top juice. All we have to do now is push him out."

Nodding, Sora went over to where Pooh was stuck "Just a little push should do!" Rabbit added with a worried voice. Sora backed up then rushed full speed and shoved Pooh from the tunnel. Rabbit stood shocked with his hands to his head as Pooh flew from his tunnel to crash into a pile of honey pots.

"I said just a little push!" He yelped.

Sora chuckled nervously "Sorry."

Rabbit just shook his head. "First my vegetable patch and now this…" He muttered.

Running outside to check on Pooh, we found he now had his head stuck in a honey pot. "Oh, bother. Where am I? It's ever so dark in here." He paused when he realized what his head was stuck in "Well, it isn't so bad, I suppose. There is plenty of honey."

"Okay…now the chapter is over." I sighed in relief as we walked to the main page. Sora wrung his hoodie and watched as the water dripped onto the page. "Which chapter is next?"

Looking over at the other page we saw the next pop up picture come up. Another tree, this time with a tree swing attached to it, was on a hill overlooking a river with a large bridge.

Entering the new chapter, I saw Pooh leaning over the side of the bridge looking into the water with Piglet beside him. Piglet pointed to something in the river "Look, Pooh. Something is floating this way."

Pooh leaned further over the bridge "I think you're right, Piglet. What could it be?" Sora and I looked peered into the river and saw what looked like a donkey in the river. Pooh knew who it was, for he started waving at the animal.

"Why, it looks like Eeyore! Hello, Eeyore, if it is you." He added.

The donkey lifted its head as it continued to drift downstream. "Hello, Pooh. Yes, it's me."

"He doesn't sound like a happy camper." Sora said, as we watched Eeyore continue to float.

"Could you pull me out? That is, if it's not too much trouble. Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to."

I could not help but feel sorry for this donkey and I wadded into the river, grabbing it into a hug. I kicked my feet towards the shore, where Sora lifted it onto dry land.

"Thank you." He sighed then turned back towards the river "You know, floating along out there, it seemed like something was missing…" Piglet toddled behind Eeyore and jumped. "And something's still missing." Eeyore added.

Piglet, once again, started his nervous dance side-to-side. "Why, Eeyore's tail is gone!" He exclaimed.

Eeyore blinked "Is that what's missing? Let's see…" Eeyore looked back and sighed loudly. "Yep, lost it again. Wonder where it went this time."

"It's not much of a tail, though I'm sort of attached to it." He started shaking his head "But I don't know why anybody'd look for it. Probably won't find it anyway…" "

Sora, Akira, why don't we all look for Eeyore's tail?" Pooh suggested.

Sora nodded "Okay!"

"Lost something?" I decided not to look up, knowing it was Owl. He flew down and perched on Eeyore's back. "Searching from a high place is the quickest way to find it!"

"Will you fly up high and help us find Eeyore's tail then?" I asked.

Owl shook his head "Sorry, but my eyes aren't what they used to be. Too much reading, you know."

"And teachers say reading is good for you!" I gasped.

Owl fluttered his wings "But I can offer good advice! Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to."

He pointed to the tree swing on the top of the hill "See that swing up there? Take Pooh there."

I pouted "Aww I want a turn on the swing!"

Owl smiled slightly "You're a bit too big for the swing, but Pooh should fit nicely." I sighed and Sora rubbed my back reassuringly.

Sora grabbed Pooh's paw and started leading him up the hill. I trotted up and held Sora's other hand, swinging my arm slightly.

Once we reached the swing, Pooh sat down while holding onto the ropes attaching it to the tree branch. "Okay Sora…little pushes this time got it?" I said my instructions slowly.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah…"

Standing to the side of the swing Sora pushed the swing with one arm, raising Pooh higher with each swing. "See anything Pooh?"

The little bear turned to look at me and shook his head. "Maybe I need to go a bit higher." He suggested.

"Well your pretty high already-"

"Sure thing Pooh!" Sora said cheerfully, giving the swing another push. My eyes followed Pooh's movement through the air as he went flying off the tree swing.

We both winced as Pooh crashed into a little house of sticks in the distance. Sora turned to me with a look of complete surprise on his face.

"Sora! Self-restraint please!" I shouted while flicking his forehead.

Sora rubbed his forehead and pouted "I'm sorry!" He started running away, ducking whenever I went to flick him. "L-Look Akira look! Pooh found Eeyore's tail!" He flailed and pointed towards the crushed house, which indeed have a pin on donkey's tail lying underneath the wood.

"Oh. I guess it's okay then!" I said happily. Sora just sniffed and continued to rub his forehead. I walked over and fastened the little tail with a bow to Eeyore while Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, and Tigger watched.

"How's it looking?" Pooh tilted his head.

"All better!" I replied standing up

. Sora held his chin with his hand "It looks good but you put it on wrong. I'm fairly certain you were supposed to have a blindfold on." He smiled as I glared at him playfully.

Eeyore looked back and swung the tail back in forth "It's not much of a tail, but it's mine. Thanks, everyone." The whole group cheered and smiled.

"I wish we could put the Hundred Acre Wood back the way it was, too!" Pooh said. I went over and hugged him

"Don't worry Pooh, that'll happen sooner than you think."

As we were walking back to the main page I stopped and looked down at the grass, smiling widely. A certain giddiness filled me and I cried put in joy. "Oh! Yellow flowers!" Sora looked at me quizzically as I bent down and plucked one, cradling it in my hands.

"Yellow flowers are my favorite! Yellow is such a happy color." I held out the flower to Sora. "It's for you!" Sora took the flower and tucked it into his pocket, patting it to show it was safe and sound.

We were brought back to the main page and Sora yawned as he stretched. Turning towards me, he tilted his head. "Do you think Cid's done with the Gummi Ship yet?"

I shrugged "Maybe, maybe not."

Sora paused "Maybe we should go and check."

I shook my head "We can't leave until we finish the story on each page, since we put them all in at the same time."

Sora groaned and shuffled his feet dejectedly. "Guess we should have thought of that."

I nudged him "Aw come on Sora, this is fun! A nice break from fighting Heartless. And we have time to hang out together!"

"Yeah…guess that means it's not all that bad." He smiled at me and I felt my heart flutter. Blushing lightly at the feelings that crept up on my when I saw his smile I turned my head to hide the pink covering my cheeks.

It was too late for him to not see the blush however, causing his smile to widen even further. A pop up picture rising from the page drew our attention from each other and we walked towards it, arriving at the new chapter.

We were in a clearing littered with tree stumps of all shapes and sizes. Tigger was currently jumping on a fallen tree made to look like a see-saw with a small kangaroo.

Seeing us, he yelled loudly "This here is my bouncin' spot! We can bounce around here all day!"

The little kangaroo who was wearing a blue shirt cheered. "Nothing beats bouncin'!"

"You wanna bounce, too, you guys? It's losta fun!"

Sora turned to me with a large smile on "Losta fun!" He repeated happily.

I shrugged "I don't see why not."

Tigger paused his bouncing to grin "Bounce this way, please!" He jumped onto a large tree stump followed closely by the little kangaroo. We started walking over but Tigger shook his head then made a jumping motion his his paws. I cast a glance at Sora who shrugged, and weboth hopped the rest of the way over.

When we climbed on top of the tree stump Tigger and the kangaroo saluted us. "Welcome to your first lesson in jumping!" Tigger said with a serious face. His commanding expression broke in a smile as he leaned back and started hopping on his tail "Let's show 'em how it's done Roo!"

"Just follow Tigger!" Roo said pointing after the jumping animal. He hopped across all the stumps then landed on a grass hill on the other side of the clearing. Roo laughed before bouncing after him.

"Alright, so we just follow the pattern? Seems easy-" Sora broke off when he felt a whoosh of air past him then turned to the empty spot beside him.

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" I shouted back at him, using the line shouted whenever we raced as kids.

I reached the hill first and jumped onto it with Sora close behind. Cheering, I did a victory dance while Sora sulked in the corner, his competitive instincts injured. "No fair! You got a head start!"

"Not bad!" Tigger nodded approvingly then held up a paw "But that was just a warm up! Now it gets tricky!" We all hopped back to the starting log. No time was wasted as Tigger started bouncing across the logs immediately, forming an intricate pattern that backtracked twice.

"You got that Sora?" I said with a smirk. When there was no response I sighed when I noticed no one was on the log with me and Sora was half way across, tongue sticking out in concentration. "Okay, I should've seen that coming."

Sora fist pumped as he jumped onto the hill, spinning around and pointing at me while laughing. Rolling my eyes I shoved him lightly, causing him to nudge me back. Unfortunately, Sora's been having problems with controlling his new found strength lately, and I was sent tumbling down the grassy hill.

Splitting out the grass in my mouth I looked up to see Sora covering his mouth with shock, but soon a wide smirk made its way onto his face. "Oops! Sorry, guess I need to work on my self-control!"

I stood up and pointed a finger at him. "Okay, you're going down!" I declared dramatically. He waved a hand dismissively and snickered.

Tigger led us back to the starting log once again and jumped up, doing a flip. "You guys are doin' fantastical!" He exclaimed when he landed. "This'll be the last one."

Bending down, he whispered to Roo. The kangaroo nodded then hopped over to the fallen tree see saw. Tigger got onto the other end and they both started to bounce. Once enough momentum was gained, Roo sent Tigger flying up into the tree tops.

I saw the tree branch above our heads shake and heard Tigger's trademark laughing. With a rustle of leaves, he landed on the log in front of us then hopped across the rest of the logs to the hill.

Sora and I looked at each other then quickly made our way to the see saw. I tripped over a root sticking out of the ground and Sora snorted then jumped onto the see saw. I dusted myself off and looked up to see Sora flying up and off the fallen tree.

Roo started bouncing as soon as I got onto the see saw and soon I was standing on the tree branch. Leaves that were dislodged from the branch fluttered down as stepped across the branch slowly to peer towards the ground.

Sora was waving his arms widely as he balanced at the edge of the log. It looks like he was off track when he jumped. My fear of heights now gone, I took a breath then jumped off the tree. My feet hit the wood hard and I was jolted forward, knocking Sora off the log.

He landed on the ground and his breath came out with a _whoosh._ I took a moment to gloat before I started making my way across the logs. Soon the slapping of feet was heard behind me and I turned to see Sora catching up with a determined expression.

I squeaked and hurried to jump across the final log but a hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me back. Sora had a triumphant smile on "I'm winning this thing!"

I yanked my hand away. "Get real!" We both leaped and landed on the grass.

Looking up I saw Tigger watching us with an amused expression. "Who won?" I blurted out.

"I did." Sora nodded, his voice filled with confidence.

Tigger patted his chin before spreading his arms wide "You both won!"

I blinked "Come again?"

Sora groaned and laid his head in the grass "It was a tie!"

The small tiger leaned back, using his tail as a prop and watched as we both pouted and whined. Roo bounced up, hopping on Sora's back. "You guys were great!" He said happily.

"You two have gotten mighty good at bouncin'." Tigger agreed.

Roo paused for a moment before he hopped off Sora's back and grabbed Tigger's paw, practically brimming with excitement. "Hey, Tigger! I think they're ready for the big one!"

I picked my head off the ground "The big one?"

I shot a glance at Sora and he cheered."Tie breaker!"

Tigger shrugged "Well, there's only one way to find out!"

With that being said, the two hopped into the giant honey pot in the middle of the tree stumps. "Hit the acorns back and smash the pot!" Roo's voice echoed from the pot. "Just don't fall off the tree stumps!"

"Wait, what acorns?" My question was quickly answered when a large acorn flew straight at me. I yelped and summoned the Heartblade, deflecting it before it could knock me off the log.

"I'll hit more than you." Sora nudged me.

"Challenge accepted." I kept a mental tally, muttering the number whenever I was able to get an acorn to hit the pot. I got to nine when Sora whacked an acorn with the Keyblade as hard as he could.

The pot wobbled slightly and a large crack appeared in its surface. The next acorn was tossed out and I jumped on the next stump, swinging the Heartblade with one hand to send the acorn sailing back. It hit the crack and the pot shattered.

Tigger and Roo cheered and said we officially graduated bouncin' class.

"How many did you hit?" Sora asked quickly.

I counted on my fingers as I tried to remember the exact number, "Hm...ten."

He dropped his jaw then whined. "Are you serious? I got ten too! Now how are we going to tell who won?"

"Can't we just both be winners?" I said with a wistful tone.

Sora and I stared at each other before bursting into laughter. Sora share the position of winner? No way.

With that chapter coming to a close, we walked back to the main page. "I think we're almost done with the book." I sighed sadly.

"Hey, we can always come back!" Sora said reassuringly.

I perked up and nodded happily. In the corner of the page, the last picture rose and swayed, revealing the nest chapter. It was a scene of a winding, muddy path. Sora and I walked into the next chapter and emerged onto a dirt path.

Looking down, we saw Pooh bent over and staring into the mud, walking in a slow line. "What are you doing, Pooh?" Sora called out. We hopped off the ledge and walked over to the small bear who whirled around and placed a finger over his mouth.

"Shh. Quiet, or they'll get away!" Pooh whisper shouted.

I lowered my voice "Who?"

Pooh cupped his paws around his mouth "The people who took everyone away." He gestured to the tracks in the mud he was following "See their footprints?"

Those footprints looked very familiar…I sweat dropped when I noticed Pooh's own muddy feet and decided to say nothing.

"We were all sticking together to make sure no one got lost again." Pooh started. "But then, I saw some footprints that needed following. So I did." I shook my head slightly at the bear's naiveté. "Suddenly, everyone was gone. Bad people must have taken them away!"

Sora realized the print's belonged to Pooh also as he raised a hand weakly. "Actually, Pooh, I think those footprints are…" He broke off as Pooh started back, smiling slghtly. "Um…"

"Anyways! We'll help you look for your friends." I waved my arms around slightly.

"Oh, thank you Akira, Sora." He trailed behind as we set off to find his friends. A loud sigh drew my attention to a large bush that was in the middle of the muddy pathway.

Pushing aside the branches I saw a small donkey with a bow on his tail. "Eeyore?"

Eeyore looked up at me "Hello."

Sora looked into the clearing in the middle of the bush with a confused expression "What are you doing?"

"Lookin' for sticks to build my house…again." Eeyore said, looking like it was something he really didn't want to do.

"Sticks for your house?"

Pooh waddled over and stuck his face in the branches to look around. "This place feels like a house." He stated.

"Seems like a great spot to bring everyone once we find them." Sora suggested.

"Well why not? Alright, this will be our safe house!"

As we walked further down the path, the mud changed to dry dirt. A rock wall to the left enclosed the area, but what interested me was the pair of rabbit ears sticking out from a cave in the face of the rock. I pointed them out to Sora and he cleared his throat loudly.

The rabbit ears stiffened then out hopped Rabbit, stuttering as he tried to appear calm. "Owl looked so intent on something, well, I just had to follow him!" He coughed nervously and hung his head "But then Owl flew off into the sky, and I there I was, all by myself."

I raised an eyebrow at his excuse to wandering off and he shrugged, nose twitching slightly. Pooh led Rabbit back to the safe house while Sora and I ran a quick check around the rest of the dirt clearing. Seeing no one, Sora gave me a boost and lifted me to the higher level of ground.

Looking across the fallen tree that formed a pathway to the other side of the clearing, I squinted my eyes at an orange figure that was hurtling towards me. Suddenly I was bowled over by a fuzzy frantic Tigger.

"Oh, thank you for finding me!" He cried "I saw Pooh walkin' away, so I bounced after him!" He sat back on my stomach with his eyes wide "Than I bounced a bit too high, and I lost sight of ol' Pooh Bear!"

I pointed to Pooh who had rejoined our group and Tigger gasped, jumping down to knock Pooh over instead. With a rather emotional reunion (for Tigger) Pooh led him back to the safe house.

I hoisted Sora up to the higher ground with me and we walked across the fallen log carefully. When we reached the other side, I paused when I heard the familiar sound of Piglet's feet on the ground as he did his nervous dance.

I pulled myself up a ledge and crawled over to examine a shelter made by the roots of a tree. "Hello, Piglet. So this is where you've been." Piglet said nothing and continued to mumble with a stressed out tone of voice. "Maybe we should bring Pooh up." Sora suggested.

A flapping of wings made me look up and I saw Owl coming to a rest beside us. "Hello Owl. And where have you been?" I inquired.

"I thought I'd better have a word with Roo about his bouncing." He chuckled slightly "The nest thing I knew, quite to my surprise, I was lost too!" We guided him to the safe house and he settled down into the middle of the bush to join the others.

Sora helped Pooh up the ledge and we all walked over to the tree Piglet was hiding in. Pooh bent down and walked into the hole. "Hello, Piglet." He greeted the worried Piglet causally.

"P-Pooh! Where are we?"

A silence followed after that. "I don't know where we are either, Piglet." Pooh paused "But if we go back the way we came, we should find home."

And so, Piglet joined with the rest of the group of friends. "Now all that's left to find is Roo." Sora declared. A laugh was suddenly heard and we turned around in a circle until a voice called down.

"I'm up here!"

I turned my gaze upward and saw Roo atop a rather odd looking tree root. "Found him." I pointed at the small kangaroo who hopped down into my arms.

"How'd you get up there?" Sora asked quizzically.

"I tried bouncin' as high as Tigger." He explained. "I was so busy tryin' to bounce, I forgot to watch where I was bouncin'!"

I laughed and let him bounce over to the bush, where every friend was now gathered. "I think I know the perfect place to celebrate." Pooh said as he swayed slightly.

***KH***

I leaned against Sora as we started up into the night sky decorated with twinkling stars and a beautiful bright moon. Pooh had led us back to the hill where Sora had so graciously pushed him from the tree swing in the earlier chapter. The whole group was gathered there was we watched the sun sink down and night reclaim the sky.

"I'm so glad we're all together again." Piglet gave a content sigh. "I didn't know what to do when I was all alone." He trailed off and sniffed.

"Aw, Piglet, you gotta be brave." Tigger chuckled.

Piglet stared at him in shock "You weren't lonely at all?"

Tigger jumped up "Lonely? Are you kiddin'?" He pointed a thumb at himself "I'm a Tigger!" He declared loudly. "The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I'm the only one." He paused "But I do admit, friends are awfully fun, too!" He let out a laugh as he crossed his arms.

I perked up when I heard soft mutterings coming from Pooh. Directing my attention to him I saw him tapping his forehead, seeming to be in deep concentration. "Think, think. Think."

"Hey, Pooh, what are you thinking about now?" I chirped.

"Oh, well, I'm just think about what to think about."

Sora chuckled slightly as I smiled at the bear.

A few minutes later, Sora sighed. "Well, we should be off." He sat up, forcing me to as well.

"W-Where are you guys going?" Piglet asked.

I patted him on the head softly "It's our turn to find our friends now." I said.

Sora nodded "They're waiting for us."

"Bounce on back again!" Cue Tigger's trade mark laugh.

"I hope you find your friends!" Piglet said. Everyone else said their farewells and we started making our way back to the main page. When we reached the bridge, I heard Pooh's voice calling out to us.

"Sora, Akira, don't forget…We shall always be here." I smiled while Sora nodded and placed his hands behind his head. The group gathered at the edge of the hill to watch us walk out of the chapter all waving goodbye.

"If you'd like to visit again, that is."

***KH***

As we were brought back into the real world, I picked up the book and watched as a shimmering over took the cover. When it faded I gasped and showed it to Sora. Instead of the faded out torn cover, it was now a picture of Sora and me holding Pooh's hands with Piglet and Tigger walking alongside us.

As if it was magic, the little clasp that held the covers together locked, the keyhole disappearing and a locking sound echoing through the room.

"Oh?" I poked the clasp with curiosity "I think we just locked up Pooh's world."

Sora smiled as he examined the book "It was a really fun story."

I heard a disapproving scoff and turned to see Donald staring at us. "You two need a bath." I held my arms out and looked down, noticing the grass stained, dusty, muddy clothing I was wearing. I giggled and Sora gave an embarrassed chuckle.

Our ruined clothes were soon forgotten however as we raced back to the First District. Cid was leaning against the brick wall but his head perked up and he turned to face us. "Hey kids! It's about time! The ship's-"

Sora didn't wait and ran past him towards the Gummi Ship yelling thanks to Cid as he ran. Cid shook his head then flicked his toothpick "You guys…be careful okay?"

I blinked when I realized Cid didn't have a smile on and I nodded "Don't worry Cid; we'll make sure Sora doesn't get into trouble." I smiled while Donald and Goofy nodded.

Cid merely watched as Sora tripped over his own feet and crashed to the floor painfully "I'm sure he'll find trouble anyways."

***KH***

The Gummi Ship was set on a course for Hollow Bastion, and I was set on a course for my bed. The book's world may have been fun but it was pretty exhausting!

I slipped on some comfy clothes and fell onto my bed face first. After a couple of minutes I decided that was uncomfortable and switched to getting cozy under the covers.

Pulling them up to my chin I yawned and nuzzled my pillow. It was warm…reminded me of Sora…I flexed my fingers, remembering how they felt laced with his.

A warm fuzzy feeling grew in the pit of my stomach and I giggled. What a nice feeling to have. Closing my eyes I fell asleep with thoughts of him.

_The little girl was running up a grassy hill, side by side with the blonde with side swept hair. The little girl made a dive for the top of the hill and skidded to a stop, standing up and revealing new grass stains. _

_The blonde bent over with his hands on his knees, the heavy sounds of pants obviously showing his was faking. The girl didn't notice however and she cheered "I win V-!"_

_The blonde ruffled her hair. "You certainly did win! You're so fast!" The bond between them showed as they both settled down to stare up at the night sky. Love and a sense of protection was practically emanating from the older boy._

_Turning over he suddenly gasped and got up running over to a little spot in the grass. The girl perked up and ran over chanting "What is it? What is it?" The blonde blocked her view with his body before turning around to reveal a single yellow flower in the palm of his hand._

_The girl picked the flower up and brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent of the flower. "It smells yummy!" She finally decided. The blonde nodded and pointed to the delicate petals. "These flowers are special, T—and A—told me a story about yellow flowers."_

_The girl tilted her head "What is it?" The blonde sat back "Well, they say that once upon at time, there were no flowers." The girl covered her mouth "No flowers?" She repeated in horror._

_The blonde shook his head "Nope. No flowers. But one day, a young girl with a pure heart was sitting on top of a grassy hill. She was saddened by the lack of beautiful things in her world. A single tear fell from her cheek to the ground and landed with a plop!" _

_The blonde paused to draw a line on the girl's cheek to the ground. "Just like that, a flower begun to grow! It spread its petals, and they were all yellow. Filled with light."_

_The girl stared at the flower in her hands with newfound awe. The boy nodded "So whenever you look at yellow flowers, remember the power of light can bring beautiful things and create joy wherever it goes."_

_A comfortable silence filled the air as the girl stopped to think "Will I do that someday?" She asked. The boy smiled "I'm sure of it."_

***KH***

We peered out the glass to look at the new world. It was rather…foreboding. We all waited in tense anxiety as the Gummi Ship made a slow decent down to the world.

We stepped out as the Gummi Ship landed, staring up to a large castle in the distance. Hovering stones made a pathway, leading the way up. As we started heading towards the castle, wariness over came me. Something was up with this world.

Suddenly Sora paused. He placed a hand over his heart and his eyes widened slightly "I know this place…" Yeah. Something was definitely up.

***KH***

_NIWDCOANCD yay I'm done! Sorry for the wait, I felt like I hardly got time to work on my story :/ BUT ANYWAAAYS review, favorite, follow, PM me, lick a lamppost *HA DRAGON AGE*, just do whatever people! Next chapter will be up as soon as I can get it up, so bear with me._

_And I was in hurry to get this up so I'm adding it now but I got inspiration for the yellow thing by listening to Yellow sung by Coldplay! I freaking love that band_

_HOPE YOU ENJOOOYED~_


	15. Chapter 15: Hollow Bastion Part 1

_Yaaaay for Hollow Bastion! Haha…yeaaaah…I like the soundtrack for the world though; I'm always humming along to the music when I play._

_I…don't really have anything to say yet XD Lets do a disclaimer! Haven't in a couple chapters…I don't own Kingdom Hearts and I'm pretty certain I never will. Thank Square Enix and Disney for the awesome that is Kingdom Hearts. I only own Akira. Mild graphic violence in this chapter but hey that's why this is rated T…I suppose xD_

_And yes Sora's wooden sword doesn't do crap when battling Heartless. But I like to beat them until they burst into darkness then laugh manically while making Sora spin in circles and jump (my way of making a video game character dance) Yes I am a nerd and a weirdo, judge if you want. It will change nothing!_

_AKIRA IS TRAPPED IN A GLASS BOX OF EMOTION! XD Lol wut? AND I GOT STUNG BY A YELLOW JACKET IN MY CLASSROOM. Never been stung by an insect before…and to say the least…it felt like my finger was on fire. Stupid little suckers! IT STILL HURTS TO TYPE. SACRIFICE FOR SORA….GAH. That wasn't a good phrase to say in this chapter XD_

_ENOUGH OF MY RANDOM RAMBLING. ENJOY THE CHAPTER._

***KH***

We had already begun are journey up the levitating rocks, and I could tell Sora was majorly thrown off. "Seriously guys, I _know_ this place."

"Hmm, that's strange." Goofy muttered.

"Especially considering the fact you've never left the islands before." I added.

"I know I shouldn't." Sora shrugged then gripped the front of his shirt loosely "I feel this warmth inside, right here."

There was a short silence before Donald scoffed "Aw, you're just hungry." I face palmed as Sora twitched slightly and glared at the duck

"Hey, I'm serious!" He shouted waving his fist around. Donald just walked past him with a mutter under his breath and a shake of his head.

A ferocious roar suddenly echoed through the air causing our whole group to jump and turn our heads in that direction. "Let's go check it out" Sora yelled, charging towards the noise.

"Oh sure, let's head _towards_ the menacing growl." Donald called after Sora. I flicked his forehead and he stomped on my foot in response. I yelped then held my foot, having to hop after the three boys. We quickly reached the cause of the noise and froze when who made it became apparent.

A large beast of some sort with twisted horns and pointed fangs adorned with a long dark purple cloak on was standing in front of…Riku. I clenched my fists. The last time we met didn't cause a whole lot of fond memories.

"No vessel, no help from the Heartless…" He propped a hand on his hip in a lazy and bored manner. "So tell me, how'd you get here?"

The beast was obviously injured; his ragged panting breath and reddened fur gave it away. "I simply believed. Nothing more to it." He growled out.

"When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me." He placed a hand, which had sharp curved claws on each digit, over his heart. "I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her."

"So, here I am. She must be here." Riku smirked, sending the beast into a rage. "I will have her back!" He roared.

Riku's face visibly darkened. "Take her then…if you can."

Sora stepped forward but I held him back as the beast let out another enraged roar then flung himself at Riku.

The smirk then left Riku's face, leading me to believe this beast just made a grave mistake. Darkness gathered at his hand and solidified into a sword, confirming my assumption.

Everything seemed to happen to slow motion: the beast lashed out at him with his claws but Riku did a back flip and landed lightly on his toes. He skidded then leaped forward and brought his sword slicing down into the beast.

The beast gave a groan of pain then fell to the floor, blood splattering the stones. My hand fell from Sora's wrist as I stared at Riku in shock. Just thinking of the sheer power it would have taken to pull that off…

Sora jumped forward as soon as my hand dropped and stood in front of the beast with his arms outstretched. "Stop!" I stiffened and ran up beside Sora. Goofy and Donald followed suit, casting nervous glances at Riku's fallen foe.

Riku chuckled and let the blood stained sword dissolve back into darkness. "So, you finally made it. About time. I've been waiting for you."

Sora glared at Riku and his expression became less tense, but I didn't let my guard down. The darkness had Riku in its clutches. No telling what he would do. "We've always been rivals, haven't we?" Riku suddenly murmured.

"You've always pushed me as I've always pushed you." He gestured at himself then to Sora.

Sora's posture relaxed and he stepped forward "Riku…"

Riku's gaze snapped to attention at the movement and I grabbed Sora's shirt, yanking him back. Riku's sneer returned, wistful moment over. "But it all ends here. There can't be two Keyblade masters. And only one deserves the Pure Heart."

A weird feeling filled the pit of my stomach and panic shot through my body like electricity. I had an urge to grab Sora and high tail it out of this world. But I knew Sora would never comply with that request.

"What are you talking about?" Sora's confusion showed in his voice. I was sure some part of him still looked to Riku as the joking kid back on the islands. However, he was far from that now, whether Sora wanted to admit that or not.

"Let the Keyblade choose…" Riku held out a hand "Its _true_ master!" Sora's Keyblade suddenly appeared in his hand and jerked forward. Sora gasped and leaned back, his grip on the Keyblade turning his fingers white.

Riku clenched his fist and pulled it back forcefully. Sora cried out in shock as the Keyblade disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in Riku's out stretched hand.

My heart jerked painfully and I let out a gasp, falling to my knees. I could literally feel the darkness from Riku trying to make its way into my heart. It was cold, freezing cold.

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder and I heard Sora calling out my name. But I couldn't respond.

I heard Riku laugh and I looked up to see him examining the Keyblade with interest. "Maleficent was right. You don't have what it takes to save Kairi. It's up to me"

He glanced down at my shuddering body and his eyes gleamed "Only the Keyblade master can command the Pure Heart, open the secret door, and change the world."

"But that's impossible. How did this happen?" The hand on my shoulder tightened its grip as Sora's dismayed voice shouted out at Riku. "I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!"

"You were just the delivery boy." Riku spat out. He snapped his fingers and a wooden sword materialized in his hand; Sora's wooden sword from our days back on the island. "Sorry, but your part's over now."

He threw the sword down and it clattered to a halt by his feet. "Go play hero with that." The hand dropped from my shoulder and I heard a small thump. Sora had fallen to his knees in despair.

Footsteps came closer and I was hoisted over somebody's shoulder, most likely Riku's, to be led away. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the warmth of light, the yellow petals of the flower. Light to expel the darkness.

***KH***

Donald and Goofy were frozen, caught in a whirlwind of shock and tough decisions. As Riku walked father away with Akira slung over his shoulder, Donald frowned "Goofy, let's go."

Goofy gasped in shock "Donald!"

Donald shook his head and gave Goofy a hard stare "We have to remember our mission." Goofy put a finger to his chin as he gazed at Sora, pity and confliction battling within him.

"Well, I know the king told us to follow the keys and all…But…" He trailed off and frowned.

Donald started shaking slightly and walked towards the direction Riku went in a hurry. Goofy hesitated only a little while longer. He laid a hand on the trembling Sora then gulped and ran over Donald.

Seeing Goofy run past him Donald turned back to Sora, regret showing in his eyes and voice. "Sora, sorry."

They left Sora alone in the shadow of the shadow of the castle.

***KH***

Sora couldn't believe what just happened. He was _so close_! In under a minute, everything he cherished everything he worked for…gone. His Keyblade, his friends, his hope, Akira…

Now nothing was there to shield him from the full emotional blow of Riku's betrayal. What had caused this? What changed to make Riku hate him so much? Sora's hands clasped tighter around his legs as he struggled to keep his breathing regular, willing back the burning in his eyes.

A sound of dragging and a grunt of effort drew his attention to the beast that had fallen behind him. Looking up, he watched in shock as the beast got up off the ground and started dragging himself after Riku. The blood still oozed from the new gash on his chest and he winced in pain at every movement.

After a few heavy steps he collapsed to the ground once again. Sora got off his knees quickly and ran over, placing a hand on him "Hey, don't move! You're hurt."

The beast panted heavily. "Why…Why did you…you come here?" Sora flinched slightly and the beast continued. "I came to fight for Belle."

He stirred and rose to his feet, walking forward and gritting his teeth "And though I am on my own, I will fight. I won't leave without her." His footfalls were heavy and his breathing came in gasps from the pain. "That's why I'm here."

Sora slowly turned to the wooden sword lying discarded on the ground. Bending down his grasped it by the handle and examined it. The nicks and dents covering the blade and worn down edges showed the countless days of usage it had seen.

Even back then, his stubborn determination saw him through. Though he hardly won any competitions, he never lost his childish sense of hope. And he wouldn't now. His friends need him.

He walked beside the beast and clenched the sword tightly. "Me too. I'm not gonna give up now." Sora could feel the beast's gaze turn to him. "I came here to find a friend, someone important to me." _And now I have to rescue someone very important to me_ he added mentally.

The beast snorted and Sora glanced at him then fished in his pockets, talking as he did so "By the way, what's your name?" He smiled as his hand closed around the item he was looking for and he drew it out, handing the mega-potion to the beast.

He looked at it for a second before taking it and pouring it over the wound on his chest. The gash closed itself, leaving behind a faint pink line. "You can call me Beast." He growled.

They continued up the floating stones, sharing stories of their home worlds and people they hold dear. Soon they reached what seemed like a dead end. Standing at the edge Sora looked across a large stretch of water. Pointed rocks in the middle of the water formed a small island on which the castle was built on.

Squinting his eyes he placed a hand over his brow to ward off any reflection. He knew there had to be some way to get across…Suddenly a purple flash appeared and a bolt of electricity connected to the crumbling rock arch above them.

A large platform was moving down the electrical trail, attached to it by thorny metal that curved over the platform to form a sort of cage.

Sora and Beast, without hesitation, stepped on wordlessly. The cage began a slow process to the ominous castle.

***KH***

Maleficent gazed at all the princesses individually as she walked through the pathway, marveling on how her beautiful plan was coming together.

Each of the princesses was contained in a glass container, held down by twisted tree roots she summoned herself. None of them were moving, their hearts were gone. She was almost there.

Glancing at the small girl with auburn hair lay in a swirling casing of darkness, she scoffed slightly in impatience. The girls's eyes were closed and Maleficent knew there would be no waking her.

Continuing down the hallway she walked up a short flight of stairs, her shoes making sharp clicking sounds that echoed through the room.

When she reached the top, she turned around, raising her staff in the air. "O purest of hearts! Reveal to me the Keyhole!"

A light gathered at the middle of every princess' heart and was beamed to a center point high above their heads.

A circle of light formed and slowly moved over to the mass of darkness contained by a heart shaped generator. It flew into the center of the darkness and Maleficent cackled, oh she was so close to finishing her plan! The power to rule over all the worlds was nearly hers.

***KH***

Sora was huffing and limping as he walked to the huge set of doors that he and Beast had to unlock. And they spent way too much time navigating spiraling corridors to find the right switch that did it.

There had been a lot of the Heartless without markings on them; ones made by natural means. And to say the least a wooden sword didn't do a whole lot of damage on them.

Beast however tore through the Heartless with a burning vengeance and was probably the only reason Sora hadn't been killed yet. He had to thank him for that later.

They pushed open the door with straining muscles then stood back and stared into the darkened corridor. Beast walked in quickly, his cape flowing out behind him. Sora hesitated only a second longer before following.

The inside of the castle was worth marveling at. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling that was far above their heads. Two sets of stairs lead up to a hallway that wrapped around half of the room.

A stone fountain was set into the wall where the two sets of stairs joined together. The water poured from the head of what looked like a dragon with two other creatures made of marble standing guard beside it.

Designs were carved into the pillars that supported the upper floor, forming intricate patterns and pictures.

Sora turned in circles as he took in the whole room, mouth opened slightly in awe. Beast sent a disapproving glare in his direction "Be on your guard." He growled. Sora stopped spinning and walked to stand beside him with a sheepish smile.

"They're close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?" Sora nodded and gripped his wooden sword in determination. However, Beast paused and his eyes widened in shock. Taking a deep inhale he whirled around with shout of surprise "Belle?"

Sora turned around and jumped slightly when he saw a girl watching them from the doorway they had just entered. Her brunette hair was pulled back, curled stands falling down and framing her face. She was wearing a yellow ball gown and had a soft smile on as she waved at the Beast.

Suddenly swirls of darkness surrounded her and Sora watched in horror as her body was twisted and shifted into the small form of a pureblood Heartless.

Beast started to shake and a deep rumble came from his throat, growing in intensity the longer he stared at the Heartless with its twitching antenna.

He let out an enraged roar and charged for the small Heartless, but the double doors slammed shut behind him. Sora blinked at the too late realization that was a trap to get him alone.

"Quit while you can." Sora tensed and his eyes narrowed as he turned to glare at Riku. He flinched slightly to see Donald and Goofy standing on the other side of the room, staring at him.

"No. Not without Kairi." Suddenly realizing a certain someone was missing, he paled. "Where's Akira?" He growled.

Riku smirked "Wouldn't you like to know?" darkness slunk from the shadows of the room and wrapped around him, fading into his skin to make a suit completely from shadows. The Heartless insignia was flaunted on his chest in a scarlet color. "I'm afraid to inform you the darkness will destroy you before you can save either of them."

"You're wrong, Riku." Sora shook his head "The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart." He placed a hand over his heart and felt a familiar warmth surround him. "My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!"

Riku chuckled "Really…" He drawled out, mocking clearly evident in his voice. "Well, we'll just see about that!"

He drew a hand back then thrust it, palm facing outward, straight at Sora. A ball of dark energy flew from Riku and hurtled towards Sora's heart. He tensed and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the burning pain sure to come.

Suddenly he was bumped back and with a shout of surprised opened his eyes to see Goofy blocking the attack with his shield. "Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!" He shouted.

Riku raised an eyebrow "You'd betray your king?" This question caused Goofy to snort.

"Not on your life!" Turning his head he smiled back at Sora "But I'm not gonna betray Sora, either, 'cause he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together!"

Goofy gave him a thumbs up and Sora couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. The warmth in his heart intensified and his smile widened, he could count on his friend after all.

"See ya later, Donald!" Goofy waved at the duck from across the room. "Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?"

Donald hunched his shoulders up and cupped his hands over his mouth as he shouted back. "Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together." He ran over and stopped in front of Sora.

Coughing awkwardly he shuffled his feathers as Sora stared down at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, you know…All for one and one for all."

"I guess you're stuck with us, Sora." Goofy laughed. Sora hung his head and his grin softened into a sincere smile. "Thanks a lot…Donald, Goofy."

"How will you fight without a weapon?" Riku pointed out scornfully. Closing his eyes he felt the warmth growing. "_Come on, Sora! I know you can't function without my presence, but at least try this one time."_Sora snapped to attention at the teasing voice and laughed softly.

"I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart!" He answered with a blaze of confidence.

Riku rolled his eyes "Your heart?" He repeated, looking like he might burst into laughter. "What good will that weak little thing do for you?"

"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone." Sora thought of all the dangers he faced in each worlds and how he overcame them, one by one. Then to all the friends he helped out in all the adventures they had. His heart was stronger.

"It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then…if they don't forget me…then our hearts will be one."

Sora took a defensive stance with is wooden sword as he glared at Riku. "I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!" Suddenly his heart fluttered, and he knew what the warmth in his heart was. Light.

With a flash, the Keyblade reappeared in Sora's hand, replacing the old wooden sword. Sora closed his eyes as he felt the power of the Keyblade surge through him.

Riku growled and gathered the darkness to form his sword from earlier than wasted no time charging at Sora.

***KH***

I sighed in relief as the darkness was banished from my body. Warmth pulsed through my body, making me giggle. I also felt faint ebbs of Sora's own happiness.

Standing up I ran a hand through my hair. Well…now to find a way back to said boy mentioned earlier.

Looking around I realized that I was in a small hallway, one way contained a door way with a Heartless symbol on it, and the other was an open passageway.

Well the choice was pretty obvious of where to go…I started walking out of the hallway when I suddenly ran smack-dab into a force field of some sort. "What the…" I placed a hand on it and pushed, finding I was indeed trapped behind it…whatever _it_ was.

Using my oh-so wonderful logical skills, I summoned the Heartblade and tried to smash my way through. This ended in me almost getting killed by the ricocheting blade.

I sighed and leaned against it when, as suddenly as I found it was there, it disappeared. I fell onto the floor with a thud, pausing to try and decide what just happened.

Until I peered over the edge of the wall and saw Riku panting heavily with Sora sending a defensive glare his way. The force field must have been Riku's then, but it dropped when he became too exhausted to hold it up.

With a flurry of movement, Riku busted into action and raced up the stairs. I ducked down and pressed against the wall, hoping to avoid his gaze.

Either that actually worked, or Riku was too tired and confused to care about me. I watched as he ran away, holding a bleeding wound on his arm.

Sighing, I watched him leave without saying a word.

Looking back over the railings of the stairs I saw Sora had dropped his glare and his face was now solemn. He brought a hand up to rub his temples and I felt a jolt of sadness. Battling Riku must have been hard on him.

The grating sound of the large double doors against the stone floor drew my attention to behind them. To my surprise, the beast from earlier walked through. He looked around curiously before eyeing Sora.

"So, your heart won this battle." He stated. Sora nodded in confirmation and the Beast paused, seeming to be deep in thought.

"Um…what now?" Donald quacked.

Sora paused and scratched the back of his head. "Well, we find Akira and save Kairi." I blinked when I heard my name. The beast appearing made me forget to join back with the group.

I stood up fully then whistled down at them and smiled as they all snapped their gazes up at me. "Missing something?"

I watched as Sora rushed up the stairs, much like Riku did; only he was smiling widely. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a crushing hug, which I returned to the best of my ability.

"I was so worried!" He released the hug and I watched as his blue eyes flickered over my face in concern. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

I laughed and rubbed the back of my head "I'm okay, Sora. Really you don't have to worry."

He smiled then closed his eyes and shook his head, the smile becoming fond. "I worry because I care."

Before I could respond an agitated duck pushed between us stomping his feet. "Yes, I'm okay too. Thanks for asking. Now let's move on!" Donald pushed Sora towards the entry way I had just come from as he whined and complained.

I looked over at Goofy and smiled as he chuckled. As much as I disliked Donald's temper tantrums and sarcastic comments in the past, his personality had grown on me. It provided a much welcome comic relief. Well, for the onlookers out of the way of the duck's wrath anyways.

The door with the Heartless symbol on it was sealed shut. Nothing, not even the pushing of our new companion, the Beast, could open it.

I traced the intentions made by the gaps in the symbol and suddenly was struck by an idea. "You guys, it's a puzzle!"

Sora stopped his futile attempts to force the door open and looked at me. "Huh?"

I pointed at the empty spots. "It's a puzzle; we have to find the missing pieces." Sora's face flooded with disappointment as he groaned.

"You're kidding!"

"That'll take too long!" Donald chimed in.

"It's the only way to open the door. So like it or not duck, we have to." We walked back out to the hallway and turned right heading towards the only other way to go.

Pushing open the brown door, the smell of old books and paper filled the air. "Oh, it's a library!"

Sora seemed to stiffen slightly as we walked in a Beast's attitude changed too. "I had a library back at my castle." He said quietly. "It was Belle's favorite place to be…she loves books."

We walked in further and found the bookcases were arranged in such a way it formed a dead end. "Ah…this is inconvenient." I muttered.

Suddenly Goofy paused and glanced over my shoulder. "Hey, there's a book out of place." He pointed out. He walked over then bent down and picked it up, blowing dust off its cover. "Hmm…now where do you go?"

"Goofy, that doesn't matter." Donald sighed. Goofy ignored him and continued to run his finger along the shelves, muttering under his breath.

"Ah-ha!" He suddenly shouted in triumph. "Found the K shelf!" He inserted the book into a gap with other books looking identical to it. It fit perfectly.

Suddenly a rumbling sound echoed through the library. The book shelf Goofy had replaced the book on started to shift and was pulled back, revealing a new passage way.

I turned to look at Goofy in shock as he continued to laugh to himself. "Look for discarded books!" Donald declared. Him, Goofy and Beast walked off in different directions. Sora however stayed still gazing in front of him.

I waved a hand in front of his face but Sora walked past me, seeming to be hypnotized. I watched in confusion as he ran over to peer out the windows and then bolted to a table placed under a staircase. He then looked around, as he expected someone to come running out of the shadows.

"You okay Sora?" He nodded absently before walking in a random direction. "I know this place." He said over his shoulder. I frowned and watched him go before splitting up to find a piece of the Heartless emblem.

***KH***

Riku continued running through the hallways of the castle, darting through the shadows, his lungs burning. "Why? It was mine." He said to himself while gasping for breath.

"Know this." Riku skidded to a halt as a deep voice spoke from behind him "The heart that is strong and true shall win the Keyblade." Riku whirled and was greeted by the sight of a faded out figure wearing a brown cloak.

"What? You're saying my heart's weaker than his?" His fists tightened into a ball he glared at the stranger.

"For that instant, it was." The figure replied.

Riku flinched back then squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head in denial. So it was true…

"However, you can become stronger." His voice was smooth and Riku felt himself being pulled in. "You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. It held no terror for you. Plunge deeper into the darkness, and your heart will grow even stronger."

Riku sighed heavily and continued shaking his head. "What should I do?"

"It's really quite simple." The man responded. "Open yourself to the darkness. That is all." Riku hesitated. If he wasn't cautious enough there was a good chance the darkness would overtake him. Then again, darkness helped him in the past.

And nothing had happened so far. If he really let the darkness in, his heart would become even stronger than Sora's. He would love to see the look on the brunettes face when he took Akira and saved Kairi. As his thoughts leaned towards the lust for power, his heart started to open up to the darkness.

"Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself." Riku watched as a glow overcame his body again and a new power rushed his heart. The feeling was great, until it didn't stop when he expected it to.

A shout of alarm rose from his throat as the darkness quickly invaded his heart. The cloaked figure stalked closer and Riku found, in dismay, he couldn't move. He began to truly regret trusting the darkness.

***KH***

The Heartless emblem shined slightly as we placed the four puzzle pieces in place. Once the door opened however, I took no more than five steps before throwing myself to the ground to dodge a blast of fire.

Sora darted past me and vaulted over a giant shield with living dog head on it to slash the Heartless commanding it. A satisfied smile was on his face as he watched the wisps of darkness drift up. "After not being able to hit the Heartless…that was enjoyable."

I placed my forehead against the cool stone floor and let out a laugh. "You find this enjoyable?" Looking back up I saw a hand held out in front of me. I took it and Sora pulled me to my feet, a smile on his face.

I heard a small snicker behind me and turned to see Donald and Goofy giving each other a knowing look as Beast watched on with a curious expression. I tilted my head "What? What is it?"

Donald shrugged as Goofy put a hand over his mouth to hide his smile and contain his laughter. Sora led us past numerous platforms as we walked back to the outside of the castle. I continued to pester Goofy and Donald, but they wouldn't reveal what they were laughing about.

The only thing I got out of them was a comment from Donald. "As if you didn't know already." An idea started to form in my mind once he said that, and it kept bringing itself up even when I pushed it aside. Is that what they thought? Was it true? Doubtful…

Of course, being drawn into my own thoughts caused me not to pay attention to anything else. The sound of claws ripping through an object brought me back to the real world and I blushed in embarrassment to find the Beast had just killed a Heartless about to attack me. "Be more careful." He growled out.

I nodded and apologized profusely, slightly afraid of being on this guy's bad side. He paused then ran a hand through the fur around his head, looking slightly flustered. "How do you love so easily?" He asked.

I blinked "E-Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow then pointed to Sora who was arguing with Donald about who knows what.

"You two are still kids. Not to mention all the stress and pressure you must go through. And yet you both manage to find love in each other. How is that?" He watched me closely and I blushed.

"How did you—what makes you think that we love each other? I've never loved like that before!" I spluttered.

"Neither had I. Until I met Belle." Beast snorted. I fell silent. Love? Could I really…?

"Hey you guys!" Sora gasped "Check this thing out!" My eyes followed his movements as he jumped onto a very large metal platform. Spikes rose from the sides and curled slightly, electricity from each tip connected to a large trail of light leading to what looked like the other side of the castle.

Sora waved us all on, electricity joining the spikes together to form a sort of barrier from the straight drop down. It then began to move slowly, following the trail of electricity. "This is an interesting way of transportation." I commented.

Sora tapped the Keyblade against the metal and sighed dramatically "But it's so slow! It makes things boring…"

But of course, as soon as he said that, Heartless appeared. "Oh thanks a lot Sora!" Donald growled as he took out his wand.

"For doing what?" Sora asked with a grin as he knocked a Heartless back.

"You jinxed us!" Goofy scolded him. "You always gotta knock three times on your head!"

"I always thought it was knock three times on wood." I said. Goofy laughed.

"Oh, yeah!"

Soon the Heartless were vanquished and the platform came to a halt beside a docking area. We exited off then down a set of stairs leading to another lift stop. We took a normal sized platform to the upper levels of the new side of the castle.

As soon as we stepped off, the Heartless bombarded us. "There sure are a lot of Heartless in this world!" I grunted.

"And they're stronger." Sora added. He jumped then twirled and slammed the Keyblade into a Heartless.

"So are we!" Donald cried out as he cast thundaga. All the Heartless surrounding us were jolted and shattered back into the shadows.

Encouraged by Donald's retaliation, I swung the Heartblade harder and quicker, slicing through the Heartless like they were nothing.

And soon they really were nothing; hearts twirled up to the sky and disappeared in twinkle of light. I wiped the sweat from my brow and placed a hand on my hip, watching the hearts go with satisfied smirk.

"So how do we get all the way up there?" Sora pointed towards the pathway above our heads.

"Solve more puzzles!" I cheered. Sora whined loudly.

"Can't we just smash something instead?"

***KH***

The dark suit was back on the silver haired teen as he strutted over to join Maleficent, a twisted smile on his face. The boy's spirit had struggled, but now he had it under control.

The body may look the same, but the boy was no longer there. His smile grew. How easy it was to claim an eager vessel.

Maleficent glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, sensing the change in the boy. But he didn't care. He was too busy watching the electricity crackle as it contained the rippling darkness of the Keyhole.

"So, I see the path has emerged at last." He spoke with his voice laced with the boy's, creating a possessed air around him.

"Yes. The Keyhole to the darkness." Maleficent's voice rose slightly at the end in a wisp of pleasure. She had found it herself, in all its beauty.

"Unlock it and the Heartless will overrun this world." He talked causally but hinted of a warning.

"What do I care?" She scoffed. "The darkness holds no power over me. Rather, I will use its power to rule all worlds." Her words came out in an excited tone; she took such delight in imagining all the worlds bowing to her power.

"Such confidence." He spoke then held out a hand, calling on his old powers to summon a blade of pure darkness. The Keyblade appeared in his clenched fist and he waved it around. The weight was welcome after all these years of being unable to summon one.

It was rather plain, but the aura of danger around it made up for that. The blade itself was pitch black, ending in a sharpened tip and the teeth of the blade formed an axe like shape. The handle was a deep red and no chain was attached to the hilt.

Maleficent looked over, her eyes widened in surprise "Oh!" He then pointed the new obtained blade at the Keyhole. She watched and waited, becoming agitated when nothing happened.

"Impossible! The princesses of heart are all here!" She tensed then looked over her shoulder at the auburn haired girl lying on the floor. "It must be her." She spat out.

They both walked over and watched her with narrowed eyes. "Without her heart, she will never be able to release her power." He growled.

A disturbance from further down the hall made both their head snap up. "The king's fools are here. I'll deal with them myself." She looked down at the boy that was once Riku. "You stay here and guard the princesses."

She started down the hallway slowly and he smirked at the authoritative tone she used with him. "Don't harm her." He called after the witch.

She paused before continuing down the hallway.

***KH***

I slowed as we walked down the darkened pathway and glanced around nervously. The only light came from the torches mounted on the wall burning with enchanted flame.

Sora walked back to keep pace with me, whispering words of encouragement. The pathway opened up into a circular room, someone already waiting for us.

"I'm afraid you're too late." Maleficent smiled at us and I saw Sora tensed and curl his fingers, ready to summon the Keyblade.

"Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed." She continued "This world will be plunged into darkness. It is unstoppable."

Sora crouched and called the Keyblade forward, causing us to do the same. "We'll see about that!" I jeered.

"We'll stop it!" Sora chimed in. "After coming this far, there's no way we're gonna let that happen!"

Maleficent's face became dark and, I must admit, frightening. "You poor, simple fools. You think you can defeat me? Me, the mistress of all evil?" She spread her arms and the ground she was standing on became a floating platform.

"Here we go…" I muttered. Before the platform could rise any higher Sora ran and jumped onto it getting a few hits in before being knocked off by Maleficent.

He landed heavily on the ground and I ran over but before I even reached him he struggled to his feet and charged back into battle. I blinked and joined in trying to bring Maleficent to the ground.

Donald let out a gravity spell and Goofy yanked him back as the rock platform crashed to the floor. We took no time in unleashing furious combos, the most power coming from Beast and Sora.

Maleficent used her scepter to block the barrage of attacks and her face twisted with anger. "Meteors of heaven, unleash thy fury!" She cried with her arms spread wide.

The room started to rumble and giant meteors began to rain down from the ceiling. Donald squawked in panic and cast aerora on the group to deflect the catastrophic attack.

When the dust settled Maleficent was back in the air and swirling her scepter around cackling like the witch she was.

Purple lightning struck the ground by me and I scrambled away to avoid being electrocuted. Looking around I saw the guys dodging the strikes as well.

Sora rolled out of range of the lightning then leapt onto the platform. However, he didn't get a lot of hits before being struck in the head with the scepter.

He fell from the platform and was wincing in pain as he held his head. At the site of blood dripping from his forehead I became livid.

I jumped beside her then swept the Heartblade under her feet. She tripped then fell off the platform, gasping as she hit the ground. The guys rushed in while she was down and I waited till she was on the last of her energy before jumping off the platform.

With a cry bursting from my throat, I swung the Heartblade down as I fell and nailed her square in her chest. We backed off as she got to her feet shakily, her breathing ragged.

Clutching her heart she backed into a dark portal, not even bothering to close it behind her.

We took time to take care of wounds before stepping through the dark portal. The uncomfortable feeling of dark brushing against my skin sent chills down my spine.

The portal ended up leading us to a ginormous circular room that had become overrun with roots. Maleficent had dragged herself to the center of the room, gasping for breath. Riku was standing in front of her…only…it wasn't Riku. A dark aura blazed around him and I flinched back violently.

"Riku!" Sora cried out. The boy who had Riku's body but wasn't Riku turned to face us, revealing a new weapon in his hand. He grinned at our astonished faces.

"Is that-" Donald began in surprise.

The not Riku held the blade up higher for us to see. "Yes. A Keyblade." His voice was a mix of Riku's and a much deeper voice, one I had never heard before. "But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts."

He paused, and dainty expression overcame his feature as he smiled at us. "Allow me to demonstrate…" Before I could blink the not Riku plunged the Keyblade into Maleficent's heart.

She gasped in pain and we all cringed back. "Wha-What is he doing?" I yelped.

Maleficent looked down at the Keyblade in horror as a dark aura began to leak from the Keyblade into her heart.

"Now, open your heart, surrender it to the darkness! Become darkness itself!" He then ripped the blade from her chest and backed into a dark portal he summoned behind him.

Remarkably, there was no wound in Maleficent's chest. Instead, a green glow began to surround her body as she laughed madly. Our whole group began to back up slowly.

"This is it! This power!" She let out another laugh. "Darkness…The true darkness!" The green glow erupted with a sudden fierceness, becoming an inferno of enchanted flame. The shadows rose and joined the fire, growing bigger and bigger.

When it cleared, the normally clean mouthed Sora let out a rather loud cuss.

An extremely large and extremely mad dragon slammed its front to legs on the ground, staring at us with eyes that glowed yellow. Its skin was black while its underside was a dark purple, and spikes ran down the length of its back. Killer talons and deathly teeth adorned it and green flames licked around its gaping jaws.

It let out a terrifying roar then charged us head on.


	16. Chapter 16: Hollow Bastion Part 2

_Heh-heeeey guys! Sorry for those of you that thought this was a new chapter, but I'm running through the story and fixing a few things. I usually just type then…well you know post it! So the Hallow Bastion chapter was kind of longer then the others, like the awkward boy who started puberty too soon and is like 3 feet taller then everyone else._

_So I just picked a good place for it to stop and split the chapter into two pieces. Not in half, but hey good enough. _

_I again apologize for the people who thought this was the next chapter. I promise, I'm working on it but I'm having…several issues with my life v_v "Tis a…puttana. *feels bad about cussing so she goes to google translate*_

_Anyways, love you guys, enjoy your life, be truthful, eat an orange, be awesome! Hasta la pasta~_

***KH***

Sora, Donald, Goofy and I let out very heroic-like screams and ran away in separate directions, all except for Beast of course who started to charge the dragon right back. He leaped onto the dragon's face and became a fury of fur, fangs, and claws.

I halted mid-step and turned around slowly at the sounds of the mixed roars. Well…I couldn't just let him battle it all by himself.

Gathering my strength and courage, I held the Heartblade pointed forward with both hands and ran towards the dragon's front.

Beast was piercing through the tough scales around the face and the Maleficent dragon was not happy about it. She reared up on her hind legs and my running slowed to a walk as I watched her reach immense heights.

Slamming her body onto the ground created a small earthquake which knocked me down while Beast was flung off her head. Eyes narrowed, green flames leaked from her mouth as she opened her jaws wide and blew a stream of fire. Her head followed our frantic dodging, lighting everything in her path.

I winced as the flames danced around the area, making the room uncomfortable warm. Dread started to overcome me as I watched my friends attempting to land a hit on Maleficent. We weren't even five minutes into the battle and it already seemed hopeless.

But then again…what have all the battles we fought before taught us? We didn't have to be the biggest or the strongest, we just needed to believe.

Calling upon knowledge gained by defeating past villains, I weaved through the swirling flames like they were Ursula's tentacles trying to grab at me.

Once I got a clean view of her head, I leaned back and held the Heartblade above my head, throwing it at her eye just as I had when battling Cerberus.

Sora watched my attacks, seeming to get the way I was using our battle experience to my advantage. He dodged and rolled through the flames, tossing the Keyblade at her other eye. She gave a frustrated roar and shook her head, stomping her feet in frustration.

Beast took the chance to clamber back onto her back, calling down at us as he did so. "Aim for the head and back of the neck!"

The yellow eyes opened to a squint and Maleficent started snapping at our surely blurred figures. I figured it was better to climb on her back and risk falling off then getting eaten alive. And I don't think shooting blizzard down a throat would cut it this time.

I climbed up the back of the dragon while using the spikes lining her spine to help my balance. When I reached her neck, Beast had already done some damage. The red liquid dripping down the scales proved that.

Seeing someone was there to back him up, he leaped onto her face. Since her amour was already weakened in the spots he attacked before, he clawed those areas. The dragon let out a roar chillingly similar to a scream and waved her head around.

I yelped and dug the Heartblade into the broken scales, holding onto the handle for dear life. She started bellowing jets of flames in random directions before jumping up and spinning in a circle. That successfully threw me off and managed to whip the guys on the ground with her tail at the same time.

I got up and rubbed my rear which was now sore after slamming into the stone floor. Beast was still clawing at the face, miraculously able to stay on after the jump and twirl.

Fire began to leak out of her mouth again and I tensed but jets of fire didn't spew out. Instead glowing green flames formed into spheres gathered in a circle around her. Then all started flying to all the warm bodied beings in the room.

Unfortunately, there were too many to dodge without being hit and I held my singed arm with my face scrunched up in pain. Suddenly the burning pain faded and I opened my eyes to see the shape of a healing flower disappear.

Sora smiled at me before returning his concentration on the evil being in the room. Her attacks had slowed and I realized the fire spluttered before turning into a stream, that had to be proof she was wearing down!

With confidence regained, I joined back in the attack on the weakened points in her amour. Casting blizzard at her eyes along with Donald, we distracted her long enough for Sora to climb up on the dragon's back.

He reached the place I had stabbed the Heartblade into her, and raised his own blade up high. With a battle cry emerging from his throat, he thrust the blade into the wound.

The dragon screamed out and twisted her neck, body writhing in pain. Her movements slowed until she eventually collapsed, lifeless.

Sora dismissed the Keyblade and slid off the dragon's neck. The roots surrounding the walls suddenly burst into green flame, burning up now that Maleficent's dark magic was gone.

Panting and completely exhausted, we watched as the dragon's body faded until only one thing was left. Maleficent's torn and tattered cloak lay stretched out on the floor.

I placed my hands on my knees and attempted to get my breath back. However, a cold cruel laugh echoed through the room causing me to tense.

"How ironic." The not Riku muttered as he walked onto the ruined cloak. "She was just another puppet after all."

"What?" Donald growled out.

"The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her." He grinded the tip of his boot into the cloak with a twisted grin "A fitting end for such a fool."

Looking at our glaring faces he smirked again and backed into a dark portal. Glancing around the room it seemed the only way to go was the dark portal we used to enter the room in the first place.

Leaving the room with the torn cloak we reentered the room the battle with regular Maleficent took place. And lo and behold, the wall to our left glowed slightly before sliding back, revealing a secret passageway.

"Sora…I don't like the feel of this." I whispered.

Wringing my hands to get rid of nervous tension I watched his face crease in concentration. "We have to go, Akira."

"I kind of hoped you wouldn't say that…" We started towards the opened; however Beast paused and strayed back.

"This is where I stop." He growled out.

Sora glanced at him in surprise and I tilted my head. "Why is that?" I asked. Beast started at us a second before snorting.

"I have to look for Belle. This is your fight."

We called out our thanks as Beast turned and ran out of the room on all fours. "Man," Sora rubbed the back of his head "I was hoping he'd stay with us the whole time."

I muttered my agreement. He defiantly was a valued team member.

As we walked into the hallway, I grabbed Sora's hand and clenched it tightly. Call it intuition, a gut feeling, instinct; I just had a premonition something bad was going to happen and it was going to happen soon.

The passageway opened up into the lift stop area, but now we were on a previously inaccessible area. Again, left was the only way to go, so left it was.

And, once again, the feeling of a premonition overwhelmed me as large double doors slid back, showing a grand hall.

A large red carpet led the way into the hall with blue fires lighting the way dimly. A large Heartless emblem was etched into the floor. Behind each blue fire was a glass container, blurred figures lying inside.

Some of them looked very familiar…I could feel my face paling when I realized the figure I was looking at was Jasmine.

Something on the bottom of the container was wrapped up to her waist, keeping her restrained. But now it seemed to be acting as a prop, because she wasn't moving. She wasn't even breathing. I held my hand over my mouth in horror.

Gulping down a scream, I peered at the other casket like glass containers, seeing they all held young women with their eyes closed and chest unmoving.

Donald and Goofy had disturbed expressions on their faces but a determined glint in their eyes. Sora was pale but his eyes were unflinching as he continued down the path. Only the slight tremble of his shoulders and quivering fists gave away his true emotions.

I tore my gaze away from him and focused on the path ahead. Walking up two flights of stairs I became aware of the only sound echoing through the room: the crackling of electricity.

When we reached the top of the stairs I saw what was making it. Monitors and machines of all kinds were hooked up to metal shaped like a heart. Dark energy swirled inside, lightening crackling across its surface.

A feeling of wariness started creeping up on me. No Heartless had come attacked, and the not Riku was nowhere to be seen so far. This seemed strangely set up…

I walked quickly to catch up with Sora, looking back only once to see Goofy running into seemingly nothing as Donald whirled to watch him tumble down the stairs. I know how that feels…

Sora's gasp jolted me away from the scene as he shouted out in a panic "Kairi!" I stiffened then glanced back to see Sora bent over a small figure lying face up on the floor.

Sora lifted off the floor and started shaking her slightly. "Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!" I stiffened and ran beside him, skidding to a halt beside her lifeless body. She was just like all the other girls trapped behind the glass.

"It's no use."

Sora snapped his head up and looked towards the sound of the voice. I followed his gaze and saw not Riku sitting on one of the machines, the dark Keyblade in hand.

"That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up."

Sora placed Kairi back down gently and stood up to face the not Riku. I scooted over to crouch beside her.

"What?" Sora blinked owlishly, seeming completely bewildered. "You…You're not Riku." I looked towards not Riku, who was smirking.

"The Keyhole cannot be completed, and the Pure Heart cannot fulfill her purpose, so long as the last princess of heart still sleeps." Sora's eyes widened and I looked down into the peaceful face of Kairi.

"The princess…? Kairi's a princess?" Sora repeated in a disbelieving tone of voice.

Not Riku jumped down from his place on the monitor and floated down slowly, landing on his toes. I watched him walk towards Sora slowly, his eyes gleaming. "Yes, and without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakened."

Sora glared at not Riku, fists clenched, ready to summon the Keyblade. "Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!"

Not Riku paused and looked at Sora the way a cat might eye a mouse. "But first, you must give the princess back her heart." He pointed the dark Keyblade at Sora, and Sora gasped in pain.

He gripped his shirt and fell to his knees, hissing and gasping for breath. "Sora!" I cried out and stumbled over to lay a hand on his shoulder. Donald took out his wand and faced the not Riku.

"What's-" Sora choked on his words, unable to finish a sentence. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Don't you see yet?" The not Riku walked down the small flight of stairs, coming even closer. "The princess's heart is responding." He paused "It has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within you!"

Sora shuddered and my grip around him tightened. "Kairi's heart…Kairi's inside me?" He gasped.

"I know all that there is to know." Not Riku said.

"Tell me." Sora spat through clenched teeth. "Who are you?"

Not Riku spread his arms wide "It is I, Ansem, the seeker of darkness." He began striding toward us, and he wasn't breaking to give another speech. I could feel the dark aura surrounding his body drawing closer and it sent a chill of dread through me.

Donald screeched out a battle cry before running at Ansem, wand raised. With a flick of his wrist Donald was sent flying and was sealed behind a barrier.

I pulled Sora closer as Ansem neared, his footsteps becoming louder and louder. I shut my eyes and buried my head into Sora's shoulder as my body started to shake. I hoped Ansem didn't see.

From the slight scoff and chuckle, I assume he had. Peering up I saw him looming over me, smirking. Riku's aqua eyes flashed gold for the slighted second, and then the déjà vu hit. This had happened before…but how could it have?

"Hello Pure Heart, you've grown." Ansem said casually. I looked up in bewilderment and was met with a hit to the head. He kicked me aside and I felt myself slide away.

"So, I shall release you now, Princess." Ansem said. I held my pounding head and watched as the dark Keyblade was pointed straight at Sora. "Complete the Keyhole with your power. Then the Pure Heart can open the door, and lead me into everlasting darkness!"

His expression mad with power, Ansem raised the Keyblade over his head. I shouted at Sora, who still had his eyes shut from the pain.

Ansem brought the Keyblade down and I screamed. This is it; we're all going to die here_._ Suddenly, something inside Sora snapped. He summoned his Keyblade and raised it, just in time to block the killing blow.

Ansem applied more pressure in attempts to push Sora back down, but Sora slowly rose from his crouching position, matching the evil man's strength.

"Forget it!" Sora growled out. "There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!" He shoved his Keyblade forward and Ansem jumped back to avoid a blow to the side.

They both stood still before charging with their weapon's raised.

The battle that ensued was the longest moment of my life. Every hit aimed made me cringe, every near slice of skin made me whine, and every cry or hiss of pain made me bang against the barrier like a lunatic.

They were both panting heavily as Ansem tried to thrust the Keyblade into Sora's heart. But Sora blocked then countered with a flurry of anger based attacks. The battle was over. Sora had won.

Riku's body started to become see through, and he dropped to the ground, disappearing before Sora could run over to him. The barriers disappeared and I crashed into Sora, giving him a tight hug. I felt him flinch slightly and felt a twinge of guilt, I probably just hurt him. Nonetheless he returned the hug.

"Sora! Akira!" Donald cried out as he flailed his arms up and down. "Look!"

"The…The Keyhole!" Goofy spluttered.

They both pointed towards the Keyhole, which had started to become very unstable. The multitude of colors inside it swirled faster and the lightening crackled in its struggles to hold the energy back.

Sora released the hug and started towards the Keyhole with me trailing behind slightly. Reaching the top of the stairs he summoned the Keyblade and aimed it at the center of the Keyhole.

Despite my extreme reluctance to get near that much dark energy, I stepped beside Sora and called forth the Heartblade. With a flash of light it appeared in my hand and we waited for the tell-tale signs of glowing from the blades. But nothing happened.

Goofy shook his head "It won't work! They Keyhole's not finished yet!"

Sora huffed in frustration and dismissed the Keyblade. "What can we do?" We all paused to think, Goofy coming to a realization first.

"Maybe we've gotta go wake Kairi up." He suggested. Turning around, our gazes locked onto Kairi who lay still and pale on the ground.

"I think you're right." Sora murmured. "If we can free her heart…But…" He put his hand over his chest, the resting place of Kairi's heart. "But how?"

My stomach churned as the answer presented itself like a slap to the face. The dark Keyblade Ansem wielded which lay discarded on the ground.

"A Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts…I wonder…" Sora trailed off and glanced at me. A bead of sweat was on his forehead and I watched as he gulped. Connecting two and two in my head, I became instantly aware of the plan forming in his mind.

"Sora..." My voice held an air of nervousness and a hint of a warning. Ignoring this, Sora stepped forward. "Sora no!" I grabbed his wrist in desperation. However, my shaking hands made my grip weak and he shrugged me off while continuing to walk forward.

My eyes burned with tears that threatened to slip out as he stood over the fallen weapon. "Sora! Don't do this! You don't have to!"

Still ignoring my pleas he bent down and grasped the handle of the Keyblade slowly. "T-This is too much to ask!" I stumbled over my words and ended up stuttering slightly.

Donald and Goofy, who had stared dumbstruck at the scene before them, suddenly realized what Sora planned on doing.

"Sora hold on!" Goofy yelped.

"No, wait!" Donald screeched.

Sora paused as he examined the Keyblade, then averted saddened eyes over at me, head bowed in defeat. Feeling his gaze on me I angled my head up, tears starting to spill out. Heart throbbing, I gave one last try to dissuade him.

"Please…Please don't leave me."

His face was stricken as he looked from me, to the Keyhole, then his eyes fell on Kairi. His expression hardened, and he gripped the Keyblade near the teeth, holding the tip to his heart.

My eyes widened in horror as he smiled down at me sadly. "Remember Akira…the ship runs on happy faces."

With one swift motion he drove the Keyblade into his chest.

I couldn't hold back the scream of pain as a burning agony enveloped my body. Gripping my arms tightly, nails pierced the skin as I bit down on my lip hard. Whimpers spilled from my mouth as I tried to concentrate on anything but the feeling of something digging its way out of my chest.

Through blurred vision, I saw the dark Keyblade becoming overwhelmed by Sora's light. It burst, realizing the six princess's hearts. They all flew back to their original bodies as a heart emerged from Sora's chest.

It glowed with a soft light and hovered over to Kairi, where it too returned to its original place.

Grief filled me and I let out a wail as Sora's smile faded and his eyes closed. Body going limp, he started to fall. I tried to stand up, to run to him, catch him, but my limbs wouldn't obey and I stayed on my knees.

I cursed my weakness as the tears streamed freely down my cheeks. I failed him. I let this happen. Because of me Sora is now d-

Kairi let out a shout as she dived with her arms outstretched towards him. But his body shattered before he could land safely in her arms. She froze, utmost shock overcoming her features.

A single glowing heart floated upwards slowly, twirling lazily as all the other hearts we released did. My breathing quickened as the sense of loss overflowed. "No…no no no!" I raised my arm towards it and made small grabbing gestures.

Donald and Goofy were standing beside me now, and Donald was screeching louder then he ever had before. "Sora! Come back, Sora!"

The golden light from his heart faded, leaving an obvious sense of a missing presence in the still room. Jerking back in surprise when I felt a shaking hand on my shoulder, I was met with the sorrowful face of Kairi. "Sora, are you really-"

"No! He can't be! I won't let him go!" I cut her off with a snap. Kairi flinched at my forceful tone and I crumbled. Holding my head in my hands I took several deep breaths. "I'm sorry Kairi…I'm so sorry…"

She shook her head and hugged me, rubbing my back soothingly just like she did back when I was younger. The familiar action dried the tears and I let out a shaky sigh. "It's okay Akira. You're upset…we both are."

She pushed me back and stared me straight in the eyes. "But we have to be strong. For him."

I looked away then tensed up, immediately whirling around to see a large man staring at our mourning group, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"So, you have awakened at last, princess." He smirked at Kairi and she flinched back, causing me to growl. His deep voice sounded familiar. It must have been the one mixed with Riku's when the possessed Riku spoke. This was the man who had possessed him, this was Ansem.

The Heartless symbol was tattooed onto his chest and his white hair was slicked back and swaying against his back. Golden eyes gleamed as he gestured to the mass of machinery behind him.

"The Keyhole is now complete. You have served tour purpose." He sighed, as if he was bored, and turned to me. "And now it is time for you to complete yours, Pure Heart." He started to walk forward slowly and I got the feeling he was relishing in my hopelessness.

Donald and Goofy stepped in forward with their weapons raised. "Don't make another move!" Donald said in his attempt at an intimidating voice. Like that would work, we were all a little worse for ware. No match for this guy.

Goofy seemed to realize this and looked back at Kairi and me. Gulping, he raised his shield and ducked behind it to whisper to Donald. "Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?"

Donald frowned as Goofy voiced his concerns. Ansem hadn't flinched at Donald's 'threat' which made him slightly nervous. "I don't know…"

We all paused as Ansem grunted and stiffened, seeming to freeze in place. "Impossible!" He gasped as a faded out Riku appeared in front of him, arms spread wide.

"No! You won't use me for this!" He cried out. Kairi inhaled sharply and I grabbed her hand as she started forward.

"Riku!"

Riku took in a rugged breath, struggling to hold Ansem back. "You've got to run! The Heartless are coming!" The desperation we all felt was echoed in his voice. It made us realized we couldn't do this. Not now.

Multiple Heartless lurked from the shadows and hissed loudly, lust for hearts strong. "But…Sora…" I whispered. Riku frowned and merely shook his head.

Donald took Kairi's hand while Goofy grabbed mine and we bolted from the scene. "What about the Keyhole?" Goofy wailed.

"Let's just get out of here!" Donald replied with a yell.

Suddenly, warmth brushed against my heart. Gasping I whirled around, dragging Goody with me. "Sora?" I looked around the room wildly.

"Goofy! Hurry up!" Donald quacked. Goofy muttered an apology before he slung me over his shoulder. "No, wait! Goofy, Sora isn't gone!"

Felling drawn to look up, I locked eyes with a small Heartless. It watched us leave, antennas twitching. I stopped struggling, watching the shadow get smaller as we ran further away. Something seemed…different about that Heartless.

"…Sora?"

***KH***

After running through numerous passageways and taking lift stops with hands tapping against sides nervously, we made it back to the entryway to the castle.

Kairi strayed behind and I drifted back to stay with her. She was looking back the way we had come with a regretful expression. I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I hope he's okay." She breathed out in a whisper.

I knew she was talking of Riku, who we had to leave back with Ansem. It had been hard for me, but by the tone of her voice it had been worse for her.

"Kairi, Akira, hurry!" Goofy shouted.

A twisted frown adorned her lips as she shouted back "I can't leave them behind!"

"We can't stay here!" Donald added to the argument with a stamp of his foot.

I shook the hand that was on her shoulder, causing her to switch her attention to me. I gave a sad smile "He's protecting you Kairi. We have to go."

She gave a dejected scuffle of her feet before jogging down the stairs to join back up with Donald and Goofy.

I followed after her, head drooping slightly. "A Heartless is after is us!" Goofy alerted us to the shadow in the room. It started to walk down the stairs, stumbling slightly and ending up a heap on the floor.

"I'll take care of him!" Donald growled stepping forward to the stunned Heartless.

I winced slightly as Donald whapped the Heartless upside the head several times with his wand. "W-Wait Donald-"

"Confounded Heartless! Get lost, will ya?" The poor stunned Heartless merely swayed slightly as it stared at Donald blankly, making no move to fight back.

I shoved Donald away and stooped down to eye level with the shadow. It tilted its head slightly, claws twitching. "Sora…it's you isn't it?"

"You felt it too?" Kairi gasped slightly. Donald and Goofy stood with deadpan expressions at our shared assumption.

A faint sound of hissing slowly grew in volume, alerting us that our small break we had took allowed the rest of the Heartless horde to catch up with us. They slunk forward and formed a circle around our group. "Uh oh…" Goofy muttered.

With a cry, Donald and Goofy rushed into battle. Kairi took position behind the strange Heartless ad I kneeled in front. "This time, we'll protect you." She told the Heartless in a firm voice. Bravely standing her ground, she kicked away any Heartless unfortunate enough to come close to her.

I loosely gripped the Heartblade and shot a spell or two at any Heartless dumb enough to ignore my death glare and come close. But despite fighting with all the energy we had left, the overwhelming amount of Heartless slipped through our defenses.

Kairi gulped and started backing up slowly as the Heartless became ticked off with her fist fighting moves. The Heartless stepped closer and closer then simultaneously leaped with claws outstretched.

Kairi turned and ducked with hands over her head as I crouched over the strange Heartless, wrapping arms around him protectively.

I felt the other Heartless digging their claws into my back and arms, trying to pry me off. But I strengthened my grip around him "I'm not letting you go! Not again!"

Placing a small kiss against its forehead, I blinked when all the Heartless were suddenly vaporized. Warmth surrounded me and I was brought into a standing position by a pair of arms wrapped around my waist in a hug.

When I pulled back slightly, I was staring into the beautiful blue eyes of Sora. "Akira…thank you."

Joyous cries of his name were echoed by the three others but I couldn't seem to form the words.

Some sort of choked noise of surprise and joy rose form my throat and he smiled. Fingers gently lifted my chin up as Sora leaned in, hesitating for a second, before pressing his lips soundly against mine.

My heart stared fluttering like a bird trapped in a cage as I returned the kiss. Sora pulled back, eyes shinning with the widest grin on his face.

"Well it's about time!" Kairi announced loudly. My cheeks filled with color as she smirked at us. Unfortunately, more Heartless surrounded us, ruining the happy moment.

"Sorry to interrupt the love fest," Donald growled in irritation, "but we're still in mortal peril!"

"Good to see you too, Donald." Sora said teasingly. Donald tried and failed to hide a small smile.

We summoned our weapons and faced the onslaught of Heartless. I was slightly worried considering the worse for ware state we were in and the amount of Heartless in the room.

But before the first strike was made, a roar rang out from the top of the stairs. Whipping around we saw the Beast jump down from the fountain and dig his claws into the Heartless. "Go! Now!" He said forcefully.

Sora waved at him before gesturing at our group. "Come with us!"

The Beast slashed the Heartless coming towards us and huffed. "I told you before," He growled impatiently, "I'm not leaving without Belle."

Sora looked ready to argue more but I stepped in. "We understand."

He nodded, but soon became irritated again as we didn't move. "I said go! The Heartless are coming!"

Sora sighed in defeat. "All right. Let's get out of here."

And with that being said we all ran away, while screaming dramatically, all the way to the Gummi Ship.

***KH***

Donald decided the best thing to do was to head back to Traverse Town. We needed to explain what had taken place to Leon and the others, and get Kairi to a save place.

After answering a couple of Kairi's questions, the group decision was to get well rested and recover our strength. Kairi was given one of the extra rooms, which she accepted graciously. We promised we would share our entire journey with her after everyone had more energy.

I lay in bed, keeping an eye on the door, expecting a visior. Soon enough soft light spilled in as the door was opened slightly.

Sora shuffled in, pushing the door so that only a crack of light was visible. I sat up and held my arms out, too tired to get out of the comfy bed.

Sora chuckled before walking over and hugging me. I nuzzled him fondly but paused as something soft brushed against my arms.

Tilting my gaze down I saw Sora tracing the marks left in my skin by my nails. I pulled my sleeve down subconsciously and he looked at me in anguish. "Did it hurt?" He whispered.

"…Yes." I wrapped my arms around my torso as the memory of the pain came back in chilling detail.

His face crumpled and I winced slightly. Although the pain of him d—leaving was awful, he hadn't meant for me to be put through that. He had to do that, for the good of everyone. He was selfless. Unafraid of death when he came to protecting the ones he cared about.

I pecked his lips shyly, bringing him in for another hug. "It's okay Sora. I know you didn't have much of a choice in that situation."

He sighed. "Can't help but feel guilty. And I probably always will, no matter what you say."

We stayed like that for a while, darkness giving a comforting embrace instead of a choking grip.

Sora pulled back, a scolding smile gracing his lips. "You really should get to sleep now."

I pouted. "But I'm not even-" Before I could finish my sentence a very loud awkwardly long yawn interrupted me. "…tired."

He laughed and got up and I settle down, closing my eyes and heaving a sigh. Footsteps paused and I heard the door creek slightly, as if someone was leaning on it.

"Good night Akira."

"Good night Sora."

***KH***

"And then Sora jumped off the ship, just jumped!" I flailed my arms around and jumped off the chair, demonstrating when Sora had walked the plank.

Kairi was gripping the pillow in her hands tightly, staring at us as we told her the story with rapt attention.

"But I showed those pirates who was the smart one!" Sora chimed in, smiling smugly.

"What did you do?" Kairi leaned in with wide eyes. I leaned in also, putting a hand up to cover my mouth like it was a big secret.

"He flew."

Kairi gasped loudly "You flew? You actually flew!"

Sora nodded enthusiastically "Yeah I did! It was the coolest thing!"

I joined in the nodded with a happy expression. "And then-"

The door to the 'secret hideout' opened, and in stepped Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie. Leon leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair before sighing. "Tell me what happened."

Kairi stepped back slightly, waving for us to talk to him. So we told Leon everything that transpired at Hallow Bastion, down to every nitty gritty detail.

Leon had his eyes closed throughout our story, but opened them now. "So the darkness is flowing out of that Keyhole…" His voice was rather grim.

"No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere." Aerith exclaimed. "The only way to stop them is-"

"Seal the Keyhole, right?" Sora held out his Keyblade with a raised brow.

Leon uncrossed his arms to wave a hand dismissively. "Maybe. But no one knows what will happen when it's sealed." He cast a quick glance at me. I looked around the room but it seems nobody else saw the exchange.

"Well, we can't just stay here!" Sora objected loudly, "We have to do something! We've got a friend back there!"

Kairi added a "Yeah!" from the background while I nodded my head, face serious.

Leon took a deep breath, pausing before he spoke as he always did. "That's right. You have one more friend to worry about."

"RIku's Keyblade must have been born of the captive princess' hearts—just like that Keyhole you saw."

Leon lifted his head up to stare at Kairi who shifted nervously, uncomfortable with being the center of attention. "Of course, without Kairi's heart, it remained incomplete."

"Once that Keyblade was destroyed, the princess' hearts should have been freed." He then turned back to Sora and stretched out a hand to pat his shoulder. "Don't worry Sora. If anyone can save your friend, you can."

Sora nodded, and then dismissed the Keyblade with a grin. "Hey, why don't we show Kairi around Traverse Town?" He turned his grin towards Kairi and me.

I rubbed the back of my head. "I don't know, the Heartless are sure to have gotten stronger because of that Keyhole."

He crossed his hands behind his head. "Should be no problem for a hero like me!"

"You mean junior hero?" I smirked. Kairi let out a laugh and Sora twitched slightly, his moment ruined.

We started to walk out the door, but a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. "Akira, we need to talk." Yuffie said.

Sora paused when he realized I wasn't behind him but I waved him on. "You go ahead, I'll catch up later."

And so I was alone with the three adults. I felt my stomach start to churn from nerves, the awkward silence only making it worse.

"So…what do we need to talk about?" I asked weakly.

"I've—well we've been holding something back, Akira." Yuffie mumbled. I raised an eyebrow.

"And we felt like the time was right. That you're…ready to hear it." Aerith added quietly.

I let out a tense laugh. "Cut it out you guys, you're making me nervous."

Leon raised his gaze, and I was struck by the sudden serious that had taken over the room. "…You're not meant to survive this journey."

***KH***

_BUM BUM BUUUUUM. Cliffhanger! Don'cha just hate those things? Personally I can't stand them!_

_BUT I FINALLY FINISHED. *celebrates* Sorry if there's lots of mistakes and stuff, I've been given so much work from school its not flipping funny! So I've been a furious typing machine whenever moments were available, which weren't a whole lot x3. SO. I might go back and change crap randomly but I just really wanted to get this thing UP._

_So sorry for the awkwardly long wait! I would say it won't happen again but that's a lie!_

_Until next chapter! Baiiii~_


	17. Important Note

Hello everyone…I'm really sorry but this is not an update : (

I figured I would just make it official (not like you couldn't guess it already) but A Tale of Hearts is on hiatus, and I will do my best to explain why.

I'm sure you all have read my profile? Near the top it says something about Reciax, my best friend. She…passed away.

Not only was she a big motivation for me to write my story, but she was my Kingdom Hearts buddy. I can't even bring myself to play the games anymore without an awful gut wrenching feeling and makes me tear up; I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. And I hate it. It's like I'm being forced to let go of some part of my childhood before I was ready to. It hurts. It really does.

So I literally cannot write my story at the moment.

I'm really sorry to all the people out there who read every chapter and looked forward to the next, to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited my story. It really did mean a lot and I love you all, I really do. 3

It breaks my heart to write this. I've been putting it off cause I figured it would get better, that this was just some part of the grief that would pass if I gave it a bit. After a couple months I figured it had been long enough as to make this note necessary.

Maybe I just need to give it more time, that's what I keep saying. And I hope it's true, because I really loved writing this story for you all! You have no idea how much it meant to me to be typing it for you to enjoy! But it's just too painful right now, and I really hope you can understand.

I'm not going to say goodbye, because I hate endings. So for now, I will just say see you later, alright?

All my love goes to you, yes you, the beautiful one reading this. And I'll see you later : )

~KingdomKat


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